PRESENTED BY
ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
ARCHAEOLOGY*
NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE
/"AND
JOURNAL OF THE NUMISMATIC SOCIETY?)
v X
EDITED BY
JOHN YONGE AKERMAN,
FELLOW AND SECRETARY OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON.
AND
W. S. W. VAUX, M.A., F.S.A.
. VOL. XIX.
APRIL, 1856.— JANUARY 1857
Factum abiit — inonumenta inunent. — Ov. Fatt.
LONDON :
JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 36, SOHO SQUARE.
SOLD ALSO BY M. ROLL1N, HUE V1VIENNE, NO. 12, PARIS.
M.DCCC.LVIII.
CJ
I
v.19
64-MTr
i,O!*DOS :
PBINTBU BY WERTHEIMHR AXU CO.,
CIRCUS PLACE, MNSBURt CIRCUS.
TO
SIR GEORGE MUSGRAVE, BART., F.S.A.
OF
EDEN HALL, IN THE COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND,
THIS,
OUR NINETEENTH VOLUME,
IS
INSCRIBED.
CONTENTS.
ANCIENT NUMISMATICS.
Page
On Coins of Niniva, Termessus, etc. By W. S. W. Vaux . 1
Catalogue of Bactrian Coins. By Edward Thomas . 13, 49
Unpublished Types of Ancient British Coins. By John
Evans . .^ ......... . . .64
On a Tetradrachm of Alexander, ' struck at Aradus. By
W. H. Scott 1 . '. 221
On a supposed Coin of Calynda. By W. H. Scott . . 225
Note on the Coins of Meredates and Uiphoba. By W. H.
Scott 226
On certain rare Greek Coins, recently acquired by the
British Museum. By Thomas Burgon. . . . 229
MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN NUMISMATICS.
On a rare Noble of the first Coinage of Edward IV. By
John Evans . . . . - . . 8
Curious Counterfeit Sterling. By Renier Chalon . .11
Stray Leaves from the Journal of a Traveller in Search of
Ancient Coins. By J. G. Pfister . . . .85
CONTENTS.
ORIENTAL NUMISMATICS.
Page.
Notice of a Mamluk Coin, struck by command of the Sultan
Melik Dhaher Rokn-ed-din Bibars Bondokdari. By
Dr. Loewe . . . . . . . .71
On the Weight of Sassanian Coins. By Professor Mommsen 223
Memoir on the Lemlein Medal. By Dr. Loewe . . .237
MISCELLANEA.
Notice of a " Description Generate des Monnaies de la
Republique Romaine commune'ment appel^es Medailles
Consulaires." Par H. Cohen . . . . .46
The Coinage of England in 1856 228
Indo-Scythic Coins 228
Note on the word " Nanaka" . .... 22
NUMISMATIC SOCIETY.
No. 13, GATE STKEET, LINCOLNS INN FIELDS.
SESSION 1857-58.
ORDINARY MEETINGS.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19xn 1857
„ DECEMBER I?TH „
„ JANUARY 28xH 1858
„ FEBRUARY 25iH „
„ MARCH 25ra ,,
„ APRIL 22ND „
„ MAY 27TH
%* The ANNUAL MEETING will be held on THURSDAY, JUNE 24th,
1858, at 7 o'Clock in the Evening, and the Ballot for Officers,
etc., will close at 8.
Business commences at 7 o'Clock precisely.
OFFICERS.
W. S. W. VAUX, ESQ., M.A., F.S.A., M.R.A.S.
JOHN LEE, ESQ., LL.D., F.R.S., F.S.A.
THE LOKD LONDESBOROUGII, K.C.H., F,R.S., F.S.A.
G. H. VIRTUE, ESQ., F.S.A.
JOHN EVANS, ESQ., F.S.A.
R. STUART POOLE, ESQ., M.R.S.L.
Secretary.
JOHN YONGE AKEKMAN, ESQ., F.S.A.
JOHN WILLIAMS, ESQ.
of tfje (Eouncil.
E. CLIVE BAYLEY, ESQ., Q.E.I.C.S.
J. B. BEKGNE, ESQ., F.S.A.
W. BOYNE, ESQ., F.S.A.
F. W. FAIRHOLT, ESQ., F.S.A.
EDWARD HAWKINGS, ESQ., F.R.S., F.S.A., F.L.S.
DR. LOEWE.
W. H. MORLEY, F.R.A.S.
EDMUND OLDFIELD, ESQ., M.A., F.S.A., M.R.S.L.
J. G. PFISTER, ESQ.
C. ROACH SMITH, ESQ., F.S.A.
EDWABD THOMAS, ESQ., H.E.I.C.S., M.R.A.S.
H. H. WILSON, F.R.S, President of the Royal Asiatic
Society, and Boden Professor of Sanscrit, Oxford.
Num. Chron., Vol. XIX. p. 1.
COINS OF NINIVA, TERMESSUS, ETC.
NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
i.
ON COINS OF NINIVA, TERMESSUS, ETC.
[Read before the Numismatic Society, April 25th, 1855.]
SIR,
I HAVE much pleasure in laying before the Numis-
matic Society this evening, copies, in gutta perc/ia, of two
very curious coins lately acquired by the British Museum ;
the first of which bears the name on it of the celebrated
city of Nineveh.
Though extremely rare, it is not actually unique — a
similar coin having been described by M. Sestini.
The obverse bears the bust of the Emperor Trajan with
the legend IMP. TRAIAN. CAE. AVG. GER. The reverse,
an eagle with expanded wings between military standards,
and the legend COL, AVG. FELL NINI. CLAV.
There is no reason to doubt that the coin must have
been struck to commemorate the foundation of a Roman
colony at this place by the Emperor Claudius, who founded
many similar colonies in many parts of the East. More-
over, this view is confirmed by the existence of another
VOL. xix. B
2 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
coin of the time of Maximinus, with the bust of the Em-
peror on the obverse and the legend IMP. MAXIMINVS ;
and the reverse, a naked man holding an object resembling
a bull's head in his left-hand, and with the legend COL.
NINIVA • CLAVD.1
From these coins we gather two important facts, first, that
the new city was called Niniva Claudiopolis ; and secondly,
that coing were struck as late as A.D. 235. Sestini, indeed,
who has published this coin, from the museum of the
Baron de Chaudoir, states that other coins have been dis-
covered belonging to the Emperors Severus, Alexander,
and Gordianus Pius, and to the Empress Mammaea. If this
be true, there must have been coins as late as A.D. 244.
It is curious, that we have no notice in history of the
actual name of Claudiopolis ; but apart from the evidence
of the coins, we know that Niniva was a place of import-
ance during the early part of the Koman Empire. Thus
Tacitus, in describing the march of C. Cassius, who had
been appointed by the Emperor Claudius to escort
Meherdates, the new King, to Parthia, states, " Sed capta in
transitu urbs Ninos, vetustissima sedes Assyriae, et Arbela,
castellum insigne farn&, quod postremo inter Darium
atque Alexandrum praelio Persarum illic opes conciderant"
(Annal xii. 13) ; and even so late a writer as Ammiauus
twice mentions this ancient city : first, in his account of
Constantius in A.D. 359, where he calls it " Ninive Adia-
beiiae ingens civitas"; and secondly, in A.D. 363, where
he says in " hac Adiabeua Ninus cst civitas quod olim
Persidis regna possiderat, nomen Nini potentissimi Se-
miramidis Mariti declarans."
1 The naked figure may be that of either Silenus, or of the
god Lunus, who was venerated at Carrkoe.
ON COINS OF NINIVEH, TERMESSUS, ETC. 3
It would be very interesting, were it possible now to
determine which of the two great mounds of Koyunjik, or
Nimrud, is the spot which in the fourth century of our
era bore the name of Nineveh. I fear, however, that it
is impossible to establish any certainty on this point. I
believe that most of the Roman remains have been found
in that of Nimrud, and among these may especially be
noticed a hoard of Roman silver imperial coins ranging in
dates between A.D. 74 and A.D. 201 ; with these were also
found a number of terra-cotta figures and lamps. The
coins, indeed, may easily have been buried, as has been
suggested by Mr. Stuart Poole, by a Roman soldier, during
the second expedition undertaken by Severus against the
Arabs of Mesopotamia (A.D. 202), or during the Parthian
war, which was carried on by the same emperor.
The other coin to which I shall call the attention of
the society is one of great interest, and I believe, unique.
It is an autonomous coin of the town of Termessus, in
Pisidia, and has been only lately brought to this country.
The history of the discovery is not known, so far as I am
aware ; but the coin has been sent to England by Mr.
Finlay, of Athens, under cover to his friend, Mr. Stuart
Poole, of the British Museum. To the kindness of the
latter gentleman, the Society is indebted for the exhibition
of the cast now on the table. Mr. Finlay procured it from
M. Achilles Postolacca, who sent with it a paper containing
the inscription, as he had read it, to the following effect : —
Obv. — Bearded head of Zeus Solymeus to right. TGPMlC-
CG&N. below 9.
Rev.— With an olive wreath, GAGYeePA TGPMIlCCe II
TO KAHOYC GXOYCA.
As this, however, would not make sense, it was sug-
NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
gested that possibly the inscription might have been
contracted, and that it had been originally
(H) GAGYOEPA (HOMS) TSPMHCCGiiN H TO(YC)
KAHOYC GXOYCA.
KAIIOYC being the Doric form for Krfjrov^, the sense
being " which has the guardianship of the sacred enclo-
sures, i.e., for the public games," etc. I confess, however,
that I am doubtful of this explanation, as I am not aware
of any reason for this appearance of the Doric dialect in
Pisidia.
While I am writing, another, and I venture to think
much better, explanation has been sent, by Colonel Leake,
in a note to my' colleague, Mr. Burgon, a cast having
been sent to him by Mr. Poole, at Mr. Finlay's request.
Colonel Leake writes as follows : —
"The coin is of copper (size 7). The obverse has the
usual head of Jupiter Solymeus as well as the © below it,
which is found on other coins of Termessus, sometimes on
both sides, and which stands in need of explanation. But
the reverse of the coin is perfectly intelligible, and is very
interesting as illustrating the bronze tablet at Rome
relating to Termessus, which is published in the collections
of Muratori and Gruter. The reverse of the coin consists
entirely of the following inscription, in six lines, within a
garland— eAGYeePA TGPMHCCe. H TO K. AYTOYC
GXOYCA, E\ev6epa Tepfjuycrcre^wv TrdXis] r) TO K. avrovf
or avTovopovs (scil. rov$ Tepurjaa-eas} e%ovcra. " The free
city of the Termessenses, which for the twentieth time
(year) possesses the privilege of autonomia." AVTOVS for
avrovo/jiovs, either from \want of space, or possibly because
it was not unusual to employ avrbs in the sense of
That avrovoftos was intended can hardly be
ON COINS OF NINIVEH, TERMESSUS, ETC. 5
doubted when we find AYTONOMIiN on many of the coins
of Termessus.
" By the bronze tablet, the ' Thermeses Maiores Peisidae/
are made 'leiberi, amicei, socieique populei Romane,
L. CELLIO, CN. LENTVLO COSS.' i.e., in the Consulship
of Lucius Gellius Poplicola, and Cneius Cornelius, Len-
tulus Clodianus, the year of Rome 682, B.C. 72. The
tablet, then, confirms them in the possession of everything
they had, L. MARCIO, SEX IVLIO COSS. i.e., in the Consul-
ship of Lucius Marcius, and Sextus Julius Caesar, the year
of Rome, 663, B.C. 91. The second column of the in-
scription on the tablet defines the different privileges,
which the edict of freedom conferred, and is the best
authority in illustration of the right of the liberae civitates,
and of the word e\evdepa, which we find on so many
Greek coins, and which may, perhaps, be hereafter found
on some of those of Termessus.
" But on this question, it is unnecessary at present to
dilate. It is sufficient, with reference to the Termessian
coin in question, to observe that the time between the two
Consulships accords exactly with the TO K. on the coin, and
leaves no doubt that the Termessenses became Avrov6fj,ot,
in the year 91 B.C., and 'E\evOepot in 72 B.C., conse-
quently that the coin was struck in the early part of 72
B.C. It appears, that the Termessenses took the side of the
Romans in the Mithridatic war, which is alluded to in the
tablet, that Mithridates, who is recorded as having ravaged
Phrygia, deprived Termessus of some of its external posses-
sions, among which islands are mentioned, and that all
these were restored to them by the Romans. Undoubtedly
it was the strong position of the city (see the Travels of
Spratt and Forbes) that saved it from the king, and indeed
was the great cause of the extraordinary opulence to which
O NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
it arrived, as evinced by its magnificent theatre and other
remains. In their numismatic artists, they seem not to
have been so fortunate."
The history of the town of Termessus is well known.
Its name is spelt variously in different authors; as rep-
/ir/cro-o? generally throughout Strab. xiii. p. 630; xiv. p. 666;
Polyb. xxii. 18, 24; Ptol. v. 5 : reppec-os Hierocl. p. 680 :
Te/a/ATyo-o? in Dionys. v. 859. Arrian, who describes the
scheme whereby Alexander the Great took its fortress
(i. 28), calls the place Telmessus. It was situated on a
rapid torrent called Catarrhactes, and guarded the pass
leading to Milyas (Strab. xiii. 631 ; xiv. 666). It was
about twenty-seven or twenty-eight English miles from
Perge. Part of this country appears once to have be-
longed to the Lycians, and was possibly the land of the
Solymi mentioned iti Herodotus. Near the town was the
Be\\epo(f)6vTov %a/?o.£ (Strab. xiii. p. 630), a legend which
again connects it with Lycia.8
On the coins the usual legends are TGPMHCOEaN,
more or less abbreviated, with the heads and symbols
of various deities, as Zeus, Zeus Nikephoros, Apollo,
Pallas, Heracles, Mars (?) and Fortune. On one, too, in
the British Museum is the representation of a man seated
in a chair to the left, with the inscription COAYMOC,
which evidently refers to the Hero Eponymus of the city.3
On other coins occurs the legend TGPMHCCGtoN TiiN
2 Indeed Strabo himself says, ml ol avroi ol
SoXu/ioi KaXovv-ai ; and the mountain over the town bore the
name of Ta
3 Two inscriptions in Boeckh :— No. 4366 Je, and 4366 q, shew
that there must have been a temple to Zeus iSolymeus in
this place, as a penalty is named in these end iKrd<re(i) Au
ON COINS OF NINIVEH, TERMESSUS, ETC. 7
MGIZONiQN, which confirms the statement of Stephanus
Byzantinus eo-ri teal a\\i] ravrr)? airoiicos \jcal avrr) Hivi-
S/a?] Xeyof^evij pi/cpa &>9 f) Trporepa pei&v.
On other coins we find not unfrequently the word
avrovbfjiwv, with various dates, as LA. (11), fa (19),
KB. (29), L-MA .(41), etc.
Imperial coins of this place have been met with till a
late period of the Roman empire, Sestini having published
one, on which is CTP. KAA., and a figure on horseback,
which he attributes to Claudius Gothicus (Mus. Hedervar.
p. 272).
The presumed remains of Termessus have been visited
and described by several modern travellers. One of the
earliest of them, Paul Lucas, considers that those at
Schenel or Istenaz represent the site of this ancient city
(Travels, vol. i. c. xxxiii. p. 242).
Colonel Leake adds, that Istenaz is doubtless the place
called Stenez in Spratt's Journey, i. p. 244. Spratt names
the ruins Guleluk. They are situated at 4400 feet above
the sea, at a direct distance of fifteen geographical miles
from Adalia (Attaleia). They are little more than half
way from Adalia to Stenez. Since this paper was read the
coins have been engraved.
W. S. W. VAUX.
II.
ON A RARE NOBLE OF THE FIRST COINAGE OF
EDWARD IV.
[Bead before the Numismatic Society, May 22nd, 1856.]
I HAVE the pleasure of laying before the Society a second
specimen of the excessively rare noble of the first coinage of
Edward IV. It is now nearly four years since I first ex-
hibited and called attention to one of these coins, which I
then regarded as unique, an account and engraving of
which will be found in the Numismatic Chronicle, Vol.
XVI. 38. The present specimen is, however, from different
dies ; from the former it varies in several particulars. On
the obverse, there is a pellet on either side of the king's
head, instead of only one upon his right side. The ropes
of the ship are more smooth and less twisted, and the bars
across the poop of the ship extend further inwards. The
relative position of the letters of the legend is also slightly
varied. This latter is also the case on the reverse, while
the (J in the centre bears some traces as on the other speci-
men of having been struck over an P, showing that the die
was originally intended for the nobles of Henry IV. The
weight is 107j grains, that of my other noble being 107£
grains, and the same as the noble of Henry V. and VI.,
while the usual weight of the subsequent rials of Edward
IV., is 119£ grains. These two coins are the only examples
known of the first gold coinage of Edward IV. in 1464;
and their extreme rarity is apparently to be accounted for
ON A RARE NOBLE OF EDWARD IV. 9
by the fact, that at the time when they were ordered to be
struck, the relative value of silver to gold, was such that
they were intrinsically worth more as bullion, than their
current value. Under these circumstances, but very few
could have been minted, and those must in most cases
speedily have found their way to the melting pot. So
rare, indeed, have the pieces of the coinage of 1464 always
been, that all the early chroniclers, with the exception of
Stow, have confounded it with that of the subsequent year.
As I stated on a former occasion, the indenture of 1464,
with William Lord Hastings, under which these pieces
appear to have been coined, is still extant, and a procla-
mation also of the same time authorises the currency of
these nobles of 107| grains, or fifty to the pound tower, at
eight shillings and fourpence each. In the subsequent
year 1465, it was found necessary to make a second inden-
ture with Lord Hastings, altering the proportion of gold
and silver, and authorising the coining of the rials of 119|
grains or forty-five to the pound troy, but current for ten
shillings, while the weight of the silver coin remained un-
altered. The pound of gold, if minted in 1464, was there-
fore made to be current at £20 16s. &/., while in 1465, it
was current for £22 10s. This great variation in value
must, however, have been the growth of many years, and
could not have been of sudden occurrence. It is, therefore,
but reasonable to suppose that the real value of gold as
compared with silver, must have been nearly the same in
1464 as in the subsequent year, and that these nobles which
were struck to be current at 8s. 4fi?., and believed by those
in authority to be worth no more, were in reality worth 9s.,
or nearly so. Their disappearance from circulation, and
the lack of bringing in bullion into the mints, of which the
proclamation complains, would follow as a matter of course,
VOL. XX. C
10 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
and the indenture of 1465, by which nobles, if they had
been coined of the same weight, would have been current
for 9s., shews that the enhancement of the value of gold
had at length forced itself into notice, and caused the neces-
sary provisions to be made for maintaining it in circulation.
Among the many causes which may operate to produce
rarity in coins, or even make them as entirely to disappear
as if they had never been struck, there is none so sure and
fatal in its results, as that the coin, even at its first appear-
ance in circulation, should be worth intrinsically as bullion
more, no matter how little, more than its nominal value.
How certainly and distinctively this apparently not very
important circumstance has operated on the nobles of the
first coinage of Edward IV., is proved by the fact, that not-
withstanding the care and attention that during two centu-
ries at least, have been paid to the collecting and describing
the series of English gold coins, the two specimens now
before you are the sole survivors that have come down to
our times; and there is no record of any others having been
met with, though the fact that these two are struck from
different dies, shews that there were more than a few trial
pieces minted. I may add, that the two coins wero found
at an interval of some years, and in different parts of the
country, and that their beautiful preservation, at the same
time that it enhances their value and interest, places their
authenticity beyond a doubt. The half and quarter nobles
of this coinage have yet to be discovered.
JOHN EVANS.
11
III.
CURIOUS COUNTERFEIT STERLING.
[Read before the Numismatic Society, January 31st, 1856.]
MY DEAR SIR,
I have been favoured by Monsieur R. Chalon of Brussels
with a note, of which the following is a translation : —
" My learned friend the Chevalier Thomson of Copen-
hagen, has made us acquainted in the thirteenth volume of
the Numismatic Chronicle, with several imitations of the ster-
lings of Henry III. I forward the drawing of an example of
these imitations, which appears to me very curious. The
care which has been taken to assimilate the type and
legends of this piece with the prototype, must have led most
successfully to its being confounded with the English
pennies of Henry.
Obv. — Full-faced bearded crown head, surrounded by the
legend llGNRiaVS RGX TRAS.
R.— The ordinary type of the long cross, QMI | TGL ] GVG |
ion
I propose to read the legend thus : —
HENRICUS REX TeodeR iCi CoMITis CLEVE lOHannes
(Monetarius).
The name Teoderici is here made to stand for Terci in the
original coin. Johannes is also the name of a moneyer of
Henry, while the letters EVE1 of the word Cleve, might
stand for York.
1 Cleve (Clevae), for CUviae, is found in several Latin charters.
See Lacomblat, Urkundenbuch fur die geschichte des Nieder-Kheins.
12 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The practice of placing on the reverse the name of the
moneyer in the English coins of this period, is not without
examples in the imitations. We find it on one of the
sterlings published by M. Thomson. M. Vander Chys has
reproduced it in his beautiful work on the coins of guilders ;*
WILLEM ARNEMI ( William in Arneim). This name is
clearly that of a moneyer, since there was not a prince of
the name of William in guilders at that period.
The Theirri, Count of Olives, to which we assign the
piece which is the subject of this note, must be one of the
four counts of that name who reigned successively from
1244 to 1311.
This coin belongs to the collection of my friend and
colleague M. L. De Coster.
RENIER CHALON.
The Numismatic Society will doubtless duly appreciate
the attention of M. Chalon, and consider this an interesting
addition to the somewhat numerous list of " counterfeit
sterlings."
I am, my dear Sir,
Yours sincerely,
J. Y. AKERMAN.
To W. S. W. VAUX, Esq.,
President of the Numismatic Society.
1 De Munten der voorrualige graven en Hertogen van Gelder-
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MONOGRAMS 01T BACTRIAJN" COINS
13
IV.
CATALOGUE OF BACTRIAN COINS.
THE following Catalogue of Bactrian Coins has been com-
piled with a view to its insertion as a supplemental resume
or appendix to the forthcoming reprint of James Prinsep's
"Numismatic Essays."1 It will be found to contain a detail
of all the published specimens of any real importance, to-
gether with notices of such novelties as the editor of the
work feels himself authorised to quote from unedited docu-
ments2 and public or private collections.
This abstract, confessedly incomplete as it is, will never-
theless furnish a concise groundwork for a more compre-
hensive catalogue, such as the progress of our knowledge
may hereafter demand ; and, in the meantime, it may be
1 The Numismatic Essays of the late James Prinsep, F.R.S ,
Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Collected and edited,
with additional matter, by Edward Thomas, Esq., Bengal Civil
Service. 2 vols. 8vo. With about 46 plates of coins. [The
work will include all Prinsep's Numismatic papers, as well as his
" Useful Tables of Coins, Weights, and Measures of British
India," and the " Chronological and Genealogical Tables of An-
cient India."] Stephen Austin, Hertford.
2 I insert this reservation with especial reference to the
plates of Major Cunningham's promised work on the successors
of Alexander in the East, which that diligent collector oblig-
ingly communicated to me some years since in anticipation
of the due course of publication. At the same tin:e, I must
remark that I do not feel myself called upon to exercise any
similar restraint in regard to such new coins as may chance to
be figured in these engravings, which I am in a position to cite
independently from counterpart originals.
14
NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
accepted as a definite advance upon any of those lists that
have previously appeared in the Numismatic Chronicle.
To thus much of preface, I may add that I am not pre-
pared, at this moment, to enter into any discussion on the
epochs or the serial order of the different monarchs, nor
do I wish to attempt any elucidation of the complex subject
of monograms and mint-marks. For the former, I content
myself with reproducing the results arrived at by those
writers who have had opportunities of reviewing the ques-
tion in its more mature aspect ; and, for the latter, I confine
myself to an exhibition of the positive data upon which
future opinions may safely be formed.
I now proceed to cite the classification and distribution
proposed severally by Wilson, Bartholomaei, Cunningham,
and Lassen, following the order of priority of publication
by each author.
No. 1.
GREEK DYNASTIES. — GENERAL LIST.
H. H. WILSON.
B.C.
Theodotus 1 256
Theodotus II. ... 240
Euthydemus . . 220—190
Demetrius ISO
Eukratides 181
Heliokles 147
Lysias 147
Amyntas 135
Agathokleia ....
Antimachus . 140
B.C.
Philoxenes .... 130
Antialkides . . . . 135
Archebius . . . 125 — 120
Menander 126
Apollodotus . . . . 110
Diomedes 100
Hermseus 98
Agathokles .... 135
Pantaleon . 120
Mayes 100
Palirisus 80
Spalyrius 75
Azilises . . GO
BARBARIC KINGS.
, KADAPHES, KADPHISES.
Azes
SiiTHP MEFAS, King
of Kings . . . .
50
BACTRIAN COINS.
15
Vonones
Undopherres
Gondophares
Abagasus .
INDO-PARTHIAN DYNASTY.
Kodes
Miscellaneous Arsacidan
Kings ....
INDO-SCYTHIAN PRINCES OF KABUL.
Kadphises
Kanerki
Kenorano
Ooerki .
Baraoro
Sassanians
CONTEMPORARY CLASSIFICATION.
Euthydemus.
Demetrius . .
Lysias . . . .
Amyntas . .
Agathokleia .
Eukratides.
Heliokles.
Antialkides ,
Archebius .
Antimachus Agathokles
Philoxenes . Menander . Pantaleon
Apollodotus
Diomedes
Hermseus
Su-Hermseus (?)
A. A., p. 267, published 1841.
No. 2.
M. DE BARTHOLOMEWS LIST.
1. Defection de la Bactriane et commencement du regne de
Diodote, vers 256 av. J. C.
2. Agathocles succede k son pere, vers 240 av. J. C.
Euthydeme s'empare du trone de la Bactriane par le meurtre
d' Agathocles 215 av. J. C.
4. Pantaleon se maintient dans le Kaboulistan oriental contre
Euthydeme jusque, vers 214 av. J. C.
5. Guerre d'Euthycleme avec Antiochus apres 210 av. J. C.
6. Traite" de paix, conclu avec le Roi de Syrie vers 206 av. J. C.
7. Euthydeme fait des conquetes dans 1'Ariane et 1'Arachosie,
vers 200 av. J. C.
8. Demetrius fils d'Euthydeme succede a son pe"re, vers 190 av.
J.C.
9. Eucratides s'empare de la royaute dans la Bactriane, Demetrius
fonde une monarchic dans 1'Arachosie et dans les contrees
de 1'Inde qui avaient etc" conquises par son pere vers 181
av. J. C.
16 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
10. Eucratides fait pendant plusieurs annees la guerre & Deme-
trius et finit par s'emparer de ses etats, vers 1 64 av. J. C.
11. Eucratides etend ses conquetes dans 1'Inde, vers 160 av. J.C.
12. Meurtre d'Eucratide, par son fils Heliocles, qui s'empare de
la couronne en Bactriane, vers 155 av. J. C.
Ici commence le demembrement graduel de la monarchic,
et les donn^es historiques semblent nous manquer pour
tenter meme un ordre chronologique quelconque.
13. Antimachus fonde un royaume dans la Drangiane ?
14. Antialcides re unit sous sa domination 1'Arachosie et le Ka-
boulistan oriental.
1 5. Menandre fonde un puissant royaume dans 1'Inde.
16. Arsace VI., Mitridate lr roi Parthe, envahit la Drangiane,
vers 145 av. J. C.
17. Chute complete de la Monarchic grecque-bactrienne, propre-
ment dite, vers 139 av. J. C.
Kohnes Zeitschrift, 1843, p. 76-
The subjoined list has been abstracted from Major Cun-
ningham's lithographed table in the eighth volume of this
Journal. It will be found to enter into an elaborate detail
of the epochal and territorial distribution of the various
divisions of the Bactrian empire. The assignment of the
geographical boundaries is understood to have been pri-
marily based upon the author's interpretations of the mint
monograms discovered on the coins of the different kings.
It is needless to add, that the results must be received with
considerable caution, as most of our readers are sufficiently
aware of the difficulties environing the definition of the
true value of monogrammatic combinations, as well as the
obstacles that exist to their satisfactory application under
even a well-defined system of comparative geography, a
department in which we are sadly deficient in regard to
the countries chiefly in question.
BACTRIAN COINS. 17
No 3.
MAJOR CUNNINGHAM'S TABLE.
NO. B.C. Num. Chron. viii. 175.
1 256 Diodotus I. ) Bactriana (including1 Sogdiana, Bactria,
243 Diodotus II. \ and Margiana).
2 247 Agathocles j -„ . , , « T
3 227 PaLtaleon j ^opamisadae and Nysa.
4 220 Euthydemus — Bactriana, Ariana (including Aria,
Drangia, Arachosia, and Paropamisada?), Nysa, and
subsequently Gandharitis, Peukelaotis, and Taxila.
5 196 Demetrius — ditto, ditto; and, later in his reign,
Patalene, Syrastrene, Larice.
6 190 Heliocles — Bactriana and Paropamisadse.
7 190 Antimachus Theos — Nysa, Gand., Peuk., and Taxila.
8 185 Eucratides — Bactriana, Ariana, besides Patalene,
Syrastrene, and Larice, as well as Nysa, Gand.,
Peuk., and Taxila.
9 173 Antimachus Nikephoros — Nysa, Gand., Peuk., and
Taxila, contemporarily with Eucratides' retention
of the rest of his dominions.
10 1 65 Philoxenes — succeeds to Antimachus Nikephoros'
kingdom.
1 1 Nicias — ditto, with the exception of Taxila.
12 1G5 Apollodotus succeeds Eucratides in Ariana, as well as
Pata., Syr., Lar.
1 3 Zoilus )
14 Diomedes V follow Apollodotus in Ariana alone.
15 Dionysius )
16 159 Lysias — succeeds these in Paropamisada?, and obtains
Nicias' dominion of Nysa, Gand., and Peuk.; while
Mithridates I. possesses himself of Ariana, having
previously gained Margiana from Eucratides.
17 150 Antialcidas — succeeds to Lysias' kingdom.
* v 1 f follow Antialcidas.
Archebius j
20 161-140 Menander — reigns in Paropamisadje, Nysa, Gand.,
Peuk., Taxila, Por. Reg., Cath., Patalene, Syr., Lar.
21 135 Strato — succeeds, with the exception of the countries
of Pata., Syr., Lar., which fall to Mauas.
22 Hippostratus ) n ,, c.
on TII > follow Strato.
Telephus )
VOL. XX. D
18 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
24 126 Hermaeus — rules over Parop., Nysa, GancL, Peuk.
(The Su-Sakas obtain Aria, Dr., and Arach., from
the Parthians).
25 Mauas — has Taxila, Por. Reg., Cath., Pata., Syr., Lar.
26 105 Kadphises (Yucht) — takes possession of Hermseus'
kingdom, andTaxila from Mauas (KozolaKadaphes).
27 Vonones }
28 Spalygis V Paropamisadae.
29 Spalirises )
30 110 Azas — succeeds Mauas, obtaining also, in 90 B.C.,
Nysa, Gand., and Peuk.
31 80 Azilisas — succeeds Azas in the three latter, adding
Taxila, and the Paropamisadae.
32 80 The Soter Megas obtains the dominions of Azas,
and subsequently those of Azilisas.
60 The Yuchi again possess Parop., Nysa, and Tax., etc.
33 26 Gondophares — reigns in Ariana.
34 Abdagases (and Sinnakes or Adinnigaus) — ditto in
ditto, less the Parop.
A.D.
35 44 Arsaces (Ornospades or Orthomasdes) — ditto ditto.
36 107 Pakores Monnesses — do. do. (Hiatheleh in Bactriana).
[36a Orthagnes. ]
207 Artemon — in Aria, Drangia, Arachosia.
Sassauians.
No. 4.
M. LASSEN'S LIST.
DIE GRIEOHISCH-BAKTRISCHEN UNO GRIECHISCH-
INDISCHEN KONIGE.
1. DIE GRIECHISCH-BAKTRISCHEN.
Diodotus I., vor 250 vor Chr. G.
Diodotus II., seit 237 Agathokles, in Badakshan
und am obern Indus
seit 245.
Euthy demos, unabhangig seit 245 ;
in Baktrien seit .... 222 ; Pantaleou.
Demetrios, seit 205; beseigt um 165.
Eukratides, nach 180.
Heliokles, seit 160; Lysias,nach 1 65 ; Antimachus, seit 170.
Archebios, 150-140; Antialkides; . Philoxenes, um 160.
Amyntas.
BACTRIAN COINS. 19
2. DIB GRIKCHISCH-INDISCHEN KONIGK.
Apollodotos, nach 160.
Zoilos und Dionysios.
Menandros, seit 144.
Straton, um 124.
Hippostratos, nach 114.
Diomedes, Nikias, Telephos, zwischen 114 u. 100.
Hermaios, 100 — 85.
No. 5.
DIE INDOSKYTHISCHEN UND PARTHISCHEN KONIGE.
1.
Mayes, nach 1 20 vor Chr. G. Vonones, kurz vor u. nach Chr. G.
Azilises, um 100. Spalygis.
Azes, seit 95. Yndopherres, um. 90.
Spalirisos um 60. Abdagases, von 40 bis 30.
2. JuEITCHI-Kb'NIGE.
Kadphises I., nach 85 vor Chr. G.
Kadaphes, und seine namenlosen Nachfolger etwa bis 60 v. Chr. G.
Kadphises II., seit 24 vor Chr. G., bis etwa 1.
3. TURUSHKA-KONIGE.
Hushka oder Oerki, von etwa 10 vor bis 5 nach Chr. G.
Gushka, bis 10 nach Chr. G.
Kanishka oder Kanerki, bis 40.
Balan, bis 45.
Oer Kenorano, bis 60.
Indisclie AlterthumsJcunde, vol.it. p. xxiv., published 1852.
As I have already intimated that I am unwilling to enter
upon any such comprehensive review of the general subject
as should justify my attempting to recast the order of suc-
cession of the Greek princes of Bactria and Northern India,,
it becomes necessary that I should adopt, for the moment,
some one of the lists above quoted, to serve as a basis for
20 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
the arrangement of this catalogue. I have therefore selected
for the purpose that of Major Cunningham, as being more
full in names, more facile of reference, and as grounded
upon an examination of by far the most ample series of
original specimens.
The table, it will be seen, was published many years
ago, and I have no doubt its author would now be prepared
to subject it to extensive modifications. I shall perhaps be
pardoned, therefore, for anticipating some of the more
obviously needed emendations. I have avoided com-
plicating this outline catalogue with any notes or illustra-
tions of the palseographic or linguistic peculiarities of the
Arian legends, which are merely given literatim in Italic
characters — their intent and meaning is ordinarily patent
in the parallel Greek versions, of which indeed they were
themselves mere translations. For all these matters, I must
refer the reader to the original work, from which this
article is an extract.
I have equally abstained from entering at any length
into the details of the later Arian monograms, and restricted
my facsimiles to the more interesting Greek combinations
used in the series.
It may be necessary to explain that a degree of diffi-
culty has been experienced in the allocation of the several
varieties of these literal compounds. Some examples, that
depart but slightly from outlines previously entered, have
been inserted in the plates independently in their modified
form, to avoid the risk of the omission of what might even-
tually prove to be a separate symbol. And, further, some
monograms have been intentionally repeated, with a view
to bring more distinctly together the complete group per-
taining to a given monarch.
BACTRIAN COINS. 21
I. DlODOTUS.
1— Gold.
Obv. — Head of the king, with fillet, to the right.
Rev, — Erect figure of Jupiter, in the act of hurling the
thunderbolt; eagle in front of his left foot ; a chaplet
in the field ; no monog. BASIAEiiS AIoAoToY.
R. Rochette, Jour, des Sav., Ariana Antigua, p. 218.
Tresor de Numismatique, pi. Ixxii. 4.3
2. — Tetradrachma. Similar types (Cunningham, Num. Chron.
viii. 178, and unpublished plates.)
Monog., No. 1, with i The chaplet is omitted.
a) — Drachma. Similar types to No. 1 .
M. de Bartliolomcei, Kohnes Zeitschrift, 1843, p. 75. Monog.,
No. 2, with the first symbol classed under JB.
Mr. Stokes and B. M. Coins, Monograms uncertain.
Major Cunningham further cites the Monograms No. 2a
from the Coins of Diodotus.
II. COINS OF AGATHOCLES.
1 . — Tetradrachma.
Obv.— Head, with fillet, to the right. AIoAoToY SilTIIPoS.
Rev. — Erect figure of Jupiter, as in Diodotus' coins.
BASIAEYoNToS AFAeoKAEoYS AIKAIoY.
Monog., No. 3 (with chaplet).
M. de Bartholomcei, Kohnes Zeitschrift, 1843, pi. iii. 2, p. 67.
3 Coins bearing similar devices, from the mint of Antiochus II.,
may be referred to in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
pi. vii. fig. 2, vol. ii.; Prinsep's Essays, pi. ii.,fig. 1, p. 25; Burnes's
Bokhara, pi. iii., fig. 8 ; A. A., p. 219 ; Tresor de Numismatique,
Ixxii. 3. Monograms : Mr. Gibbs' coin (Tetrad.) A ; Mr. Freres'
coin (Drachma) B.
22 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
2. — Tetradrachma, figured in pi. xiii 3.4
Obv. — Head of king.
Rev. — Jupiter, with the left hand resting on a spear, and
the right holding a figure of Diana Lucifera. BA-
SIAEflS ArAGoKAEoYS.
Monog., No. 17. Mr. Gibbs' coin has the same monogram.
Tresor de Numismatique, Ixxiv. Monog. 17a.
a) — Drachma. Similar types.
Monog., No. 3. J. des Sav., June, 1 834. A.A., vi. 4.
3. — Drachma.
Obv. — Head of Bacchus.
Rev.— Panther. Legend— BASIAEO2 AFAQoKAEoYS.
J. dei Sav., 1834. A. A., vi. 5. Tresor de Numismatique, Ixxiv. 2.
4. — O Copper. Types as in No. 3, with the addition of the
vine in front of the panther on the reverse.
Monog., No. 4. APa^wo-m (?) A. A., vi. 6. Num. Jour.,
vii., pi. iii. 30.
4 As the collected edition of Prinsep's Essays, to which the
numbers of these plates correspond, is as yet unpublished, and as
many readers may wish to refer to the originals in the Journal of
the Asiatic Society of Bengal, I append a list of the headings of
the joint series of engravings, defining the parallel references.
PI. ii. Prinsep's Essays = PI. No. xi. Vol.ii. J. A. S.B. 1833.
„ in. = ... xiv.
,, vin = ... xxvi. Vol. iii. .. 1834.
„ xin = ... xxv. Vol. iv. ... 1835.
„ xiv = ... xxvi.
„ xv. = ... xxi.
,, xvi =. ... xxn.
,, xvn = ... xxin.
,, XVIII = ... XXIV.
„ XXI. = ... LI.
,, XXII = ... XXXVIII
,, XXIII = ... XXXIX
,, xxviii = ... xxxv. Vol. v. ... 1836.
,, XXXII = ... XLVI.
, XLIII. = xxviii. Vol. vii... 1838.
BACTRIAN COINS. 23
5. — D Copper.
Obv.— Panther to the right. BA2IAEOS AFAeoKAEoYS.
Rev, — Bacchante. Legend, in Indian-Pali, Agathuklayesa.
Plate xxviii, 9 ; also A . A., vi., 7, 8, 9.
Some varieties of these coins display mint marks or
letters on the right of the Bacchante. The character is
usually formed like a modern Hebrew 3 b, it may be either
an Arian 1 d, or a Pali n- ne • at times, again, it takes the
form of an Arian *1 te or re. An analogous piece, in the
British Museum, exhibits the Greek letters, 2H, on the
obverse.
III. PANTALEON.
1. — D Copper. Types similar to No. 5. Agathocles.
Ob.— Panther. BASIAEilS EANTAAEoNToS.
Eev. — Bacchante. Legend, in Indian-Pali, Pantalevasa.
Monog. — ^, "I, etc. PL xxviii. 8 ; also A. A., vi. 11.
IV. EUTHYDEMUS.
l_Gold.
Obv. — Head of king to the right, with fillet.
Rev. — Hercules seated on a rock, resting his club on a pile
of stones. BASIAEiiS EY0YAHMoY.
Monog., No. 5.
Pellerin, Additions aux Medailles des Rois, p. 95. A. A. i. 1 .
2. — Tetradrachma. Plate ii., fig. 3. A. A., i., 2, 3, 4.
Obv,, as in No. 1.
Rev. — Hercules, etc., with his club resting on his right knee.5
Monogs., Nos. 6, 7, 18, 19.
Variant, pi. xiii. 1. Rev. type as in gold coin. Monog., No. 14.
Jour, des Sav., July, 1834, Monog., No. 8.
Other coins have Monogs., Nos. 9, 10, 16, 18.
A. A., xxi. 1, has 9 with 10.
a) —Drachma, similar types.
5 Where the legends are omitted, they are to be understood
to be identical with those cited on the latest occasion.
24 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
3. — Tetradrachma. PI. xxxii. 3.
Obv. — Head of king.
Rev. — Hercules standing, to the front ; head encircled with
a chaplet •, on the left arm are the club and lion's-
skin ; right hand extended.
Monog., No. 17. See also A. A., vi. 3.
Mr. Freres coin, in the British Museum, varies the re-
verse device, inasmuch as the right hand holds a second
chaplet. Monog., No. 7.
a) — Drachma, as No. 3. A. A., i. 12.
4. — Didrachma .
Obv. — Laurelled head of Apollo to the left.
Rev.— Tripod. R. Rochette, J. des Sav., Dec. 1 838, p. 74 1 .
5. — O Copper.
Obv. — Bearded head, to the right.
Rev. — Horse, free. PI. xxxii. 4. A. A., i. 13, 14, 15.
6. — O Copper (small).
Obv. — Head indistinct.
Rev. — Erect figure of Apollo to the left, with bow and arrow.
A.A.,ii.l.
7.— O Copper.
Obv. — Head as in No. 4.
Rev. — Tripod.
Monog., No. 15. Captain Hay; Tre'sor de Nvmismattque,
Ixxii. 11 ; also Kohler, pi. i. 3.6
V. DEMETRIUS.
1 . — Tetradrachma. Head of king with fillet, to the .right.
Rev. — Minerva armed, to the front. BASIAEflS AHMH-
TPIoY.
Monog., No. 12, with the letter A above the figure.
Jour, des Sav. (Honigberger's coin), i. 4, 1835; re-
engraved in A. A., ii. 3. Tres. de Num., Ixxii. 14.
6 I have not been able to obtain a sight of Kohler's work, I
quote his coins from Grotefend, Die Munzen der Konige von
Bactrien, 1839.
BACTRIAN COINS. 25
2. — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Head of king, to the right, with helmet fashioned like
an elephant's head.
Rev. — Hercules, like No. 3, Euthydemus' device, but his
right hand is upraised in the act of placing a chaplet
on his brow, BASIAEftS AHMHTPIoY.
Mr. Gibbs' coin, monog. No. 1 7 a). Rohler, p. 321.
Monog., No. 7. R. Rochette, Jour, des Sav., 1838, p. 743.
B.M. coin monog. No. 11.
a) — Oboli. Similar devices, pi. xiii. 2. A. A., ii. 5, monog. 17a.
M. R. Rochette notices a Triobolus of this type, J. des
" >Sav.,Deux. Supp. 16. Tresor Numismatique, p. 149.
b) — No. 4, A. A., has the neck of the king bare.
A second unpublished coin E.I.H. has the monog. No. 13.
3. — Copper.
Obv. — Head of Hercules.
Rev.— Apollo (?). Monog., No. 13 (O#). A. A., xxi.,fig. 3.
4. — Copper.
Obv. as No. 3.
Rev. — Hercules; the right arm is upraised towards the head
of the figure. Cunningham, J. A. S. B., xi. 130.
5. — Copper.
Obv. — Elephant's head.
Rev. — The Caduceus. J. A. S. Bengal, xi. 131.
VI. HELIOCLES.
1 . — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Head of king to the right.
Rev. — Jove with spear and thunderbolt. BASIAEtlS
AIKAIoY HAIoKAEoYS.
Grotefend, p. 30, quoting Catalogue d'Ennery, p. 40.
Tresor de Numismatique, Ixxiii. 15.
Monog., No. 20. A. A. pi. ii. fig. 6, monog. 12.
B.M. coins, monog. Nos. 8, 21 (weight of piece, 259'6 grs.)
Mr. Gibbs1 coin, monog. No. 73.
VOL. XX. E
26 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
A specimen in Lady Sale's collection has the same mo-
nogram as the piece first cited.
2. — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Helmeted head.
Rev. — Imperfect (seated figure ?). Capt. Hay.
3. — O Plated copper (Drachma ?).
Obv. — Helmeted head, closely resembling that of Eukra-
tides, within a border of alternate drops and beads.
Rev. — Jove seated. Legend (blundered), BA2IAEQS AI-
KAIoY lAIoKAEoYS.
Mr. E. C. Bayley ; also, Capt. Hay.
a) — Drachma. Similar types. Monog. ii. Capt. Hay.
4. — Hemidrachma.
Obv.— Head of king. BASIAEHS AIKAIoY HAIoKAEoYS.
Rev. — Jove, as above, No. 1. Legend, in Bactrian-Pali or
Arian characters, Mdhdrajasa Dhamikasa Heliyakreyasa.
A. A,, xxi. 8. monog. No. 22, i. e. S.
The orthography of the name in the Arian varies at times
to Eliyakreyasa and Heliyakresasa ; the latter occurs on a
coin in the E. I. H., with the monog. No. 7. Other hemi-
drachmas have monog. No. 23, and 23 with £.
5. — D Copper.
Obv. — Head. Greek Legend as usual.
Rev. — Elephant to the left. Legend as in No. 4.
PI. xliii. 7; and A. A., ii. 7, monog. S. Other monogs. Nos. 7, 44.
E. 1. C. coin.
ft. — D Copper. As No. 5, but the elephant on the reverse is to
the right. PI. xliii. 8.
7. — D Copper.
Obv.— Elephant, to the right. BASIAEiiS AIKAIoY
HAIoKAEoYS.
Rev. — Bull. Mdhdrajasa Dhamikasa Heliyakreyasa.
Capt. Hay.
7 I am indebted to Mr. E. C. Bayley, of the Bengal Civil Ser-
vice, for all notices of Captain W. E. Hay's coins. I myself have
not seen that officer's valuable collection.
BACTRLAN COINS. 27
8. — Copper. Degraded type.
Obv. — Head.
Rev. — Figure as in No. 1 . Legends imperfect. PI. xxviii. 4.
9. — Copper. Degraded type.
Obv.— Head.
Rev. — Horse, free, to the left. Legends imperfect. PL xv.
12,13,14.
VII. ANTIMACHUS
1 . — Tetradrachma.8
Obv.-" Head with fillet. AIoAoToY SiiTHPoS.
Rev. — Standing figure of Jupiter, with shield and javelin (?) ;
eagle at his foot. BASIAEYoNToS ANTIMAXoY
GEoY."
Monogram not noted. Capt. Hay.
2. — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Head of king, to the right, with Causia.
Rev. — Neptune, to the front, with trident and palm-branch.
BASIAE&S 0EoY ANTIMAXoY.
Kohler, i. 10, reproduced by Mionnet, sup. viii. 466.
Monog., No. 82. B.M. coin, monog. No. 7. Lady Sale's
coin, No. 82.
a) — Hemidrachma (31 • 7 grs.). B. M. coin monog., No. 19 a.
A second monog. No. 82.
Major Cunningham (J.A.S.B., ix., p. 531, etc.) describes
a "plated " coin of Antimachus Theos, with the monog. Xo
(Chorasmia ?)
2a. — Obolus. Similar types and legends to No. 2.
A. A., xxi. 12. Monog. 7.
8 It is needless to say, that, if this important coin proves to
be genuine and is correctly described, Antimachus Theos must be
moved upwards to a very different position in the list of the
Bactrian kings.
28 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
VIII. EUCRATIDES.
1 . — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Uncovered head of the king, with fillet.
Rev. — Apollo, bow in the left, and arrow in the right hand.
BA2IAEOS EYKPATIAoY. PI. xlii. 2.
Kohler, A. A., iii. 4, monog. No. 19 a. 9
Lady Sale's collection boasts of a tetradrachma with a
similar mint mark.
Honigberger, Jour, des Sav., Sept. 1835, i. 5. Mionnet, suppt, viii.
•) — Drachma. Similar types. PL xiii. 6. Gen. Fox, monog. 76.
2.— Obolus.
Obv. — Bare head of king.
. Rev. — Caps and palm-branches of Dioscuri. Same legend
as No. 1. PI. xxxii. 10. Monogs. Nos. 7, 26, 32.
3. — Obolus.
Obv. — Helmeted head of king.
Rev. as in No. 2. A. A., iii. 5. Gen. Fox, monog. No. 12 a.
E. I. H., 12a and 34. B. M. monog. N.
4. — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Bare head of king, to the right, with fillet.
Rev. — Dioscuri, charging; and monog. 7, B.M.
a) — Drachma. Similar types, Tres. de Num. Ixxiii. 2.
5. — Tetradrachma. (Weight of E. I. H. coin, with suspending
loop, 255' 7 grs.)
Obv.— Helmeted head of king. BASIAEYS MEFAS
EYKPATIAHS.
Rev. — Male and female heads, uncovered and unadorned
with fillets. HAIoKAoEYS KAI AAoAIKHS.
Monog., No. 24. Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. v,
pi. xxvii., fig. 1. Re-engraved hi A. A., pi. xxi.,
fig. 7, from the original coin.
Col. Sykes cast, from a possibly genuine coin of this class, gives
the monog. No. 17*.
9 Where my facsimiles differ from the published specimens, it
must be understood that my copy is made from the original coin,
and not from the engraving.
BACTRIAN COINS. 29
6. — Tetradrachma. (Weight of selected specimens in B. M.,
258 and 259 grs.)
Obv. — Helmeted head, to the right.
Rev.— Dioscuri, charging. BASIAEOS MEFAAoY EYKPA-
TIAoY. PI. xiii. 5. A. A., iii. 1, 2, 3.
Monogs., Nos. 24a, 25, 26. Lady Sale, No. 27. B. M.
17% 24, 24 b, 28, and 29.
Mr. Bayley. Monog. V, with HT in the field.
a) — Drachma. Jour, des Sav., 1 834, pi. v., and 1 836, pi. ii. 3.
Tre's. de Num., Ixxiii. 6. B. M. monog. N.
7 . — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Helmeted head of the king, to the left, with a portion
of the bust displayed ; the right arm raised in the
act of darting a javelin.
.Key.— Dioscuri. BASIAEilS MEFAAoY EYKPATIAoY.
Monog. 15 (?) Kohler, i. 8. Tre's. de Num. pi Ixxiii. fig. 7.
8. — O Copper.
Obv. — Head of Apollo to the right.
Rev,— Horse, free, to the left. BAZIAEQZ EYKPATIAoY.
A. A., iii. 7.
9. — D Copper.
Obv. — Helmeted head, to the left, with javelin.
Eev. — Dioscuri. B. M. E. Kohler. Mionnet, viii. 470.
10. — D Copper. Small coin.
Obv. — Bare head of king to the right. Legend, B. M. E.
Eev. — Caps, etc., of Dioscuri. Legend, Mdhdrajasa
Eukratidasa. PL xxxii. 11. A. A., iii. J 2.
Tres. de Num. Ixxiii. 13.
11. — D Copper.
Obv. — Helmeted head and legend as in No. 6.
Rev. — Dioscuri. Legend in Arian, Mdhdrajasa Eukratidasa.
PL xiii. 8—10. Monogs. 36 a, 37 a, 32, 25, 37 b, 29
with E in the field, 40, 23 b.
12. — O Copper. Of similar devices and legends. PL xiii. 7, and
A. A., iii. 8, monog. 44.
30 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
13. — D Copper.
Obv. — Helmeted head to the right, and B. M. E.
Rev. — Seated figure to the left, with a small elephant's at
the side (as in Antialkides' coins). Legend indistinct.
A.A.,iu.ll.
14. — D Copper.
Obv. — Helmeted head of king to the left, with javelin. B.M.E.
Rev. — A winged figure of Victory to the right, with chaplet
and palm-branch. Legend defective.
A. A., xxi. 5, monog. 24a.
15. — D Copper.
Obv. — Helmeted head of king to the right. B. M. E.
Rev. — Victory to the left, extending a wreath and fillet.
Legend defective except in the name.
A. A., xxi. 6, monog. 35a.
I recapitulate the monograms, already quoted, on the
coins of Eucratides, and add a list of the numerous symbols
occurring on his various mintages.
Monograms quoted above: — Nos. 7, 12a, 15, 17a, 19a, 23b,
24, 24a, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 29b, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 36a, 37a,
40, and 76.
Additional, derived from other coins: — Nos. 3(?), 6a, 7, 9, 15,
19a, 23% b, 24 b, 24b with E, 26% 27 to 45 inclusive, together
with the second examples of each monogram classed under those
numbers marked % and No. 29 associated with the letter E on
the field of the piece.
IX. ANTJMACHUS NIKH$oPo2.
1 . — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Winged figure of Victory, to the left, with palm
branch in her right, and fillet in her left hand.
BASIAEilS NIKHfcoPoY ANTIMAXoY.
Rev. — King on horseback, to the right. Mdhdrajasa jayd-
dhardsa Antimdkhasa. PI. xv. 3. A. A., ii. 16.
Prof. Wilson was under the impression that all these
coins bore the same monog. Nos. 29 a (A. A., 274) ; they
are now found to embrace the symbols classed under the
following numbers, 26, 29, 77, and 77%
BACTRIAN COINS. 31
2. — D Copper.
Obv. — Demeter, to the front; cornucopia on her left arm.
Legend imperfect.
Rev. — Winged figure of Victory, to the left. Mdhdrajasa
- - - Antimakhasa. PI. xv. A. A., ii. 16.
3. — D Copper.
Obv. — The skin of an auimal (?). BASIAEiiE NIKH$oPoY
Rev. — Wreath and palm -branch. Mdhdrajasa - -
Antimakhasa. A. A., xxi., fig. 1 1.
A silver cast of a genuine coin, in the possession of
Mr. Bayley, definitely determines the attribution of this
piece, and contributes the full counterpart names as inserted
above. It bears the monog. No. 26. See also Cunningham,
JA.S.B., April, 1840, p. 392.
X. PHILOXENES.
1. — Didrachma.
Obv. — Helmeted head of king, to the right. BASIAEiiS
ANIKHToY $IAo#ENoY.
Rev. — Horseman, as in Antimachus Nikephorus' coins.
Mdhdrajasa Apadihatasa Pilasinasa.
PI. xv. 1. A. A., ii. 17. Monog., No. 74.
a. — n Hemidr., of similar devices. Monog., No. 83, with S.
Mr. Bayley.
b. — D Obolus (?). Types and legends as above. The Arian
name is written, Phalasinasa. Monog., No, 84.
Captain Robinson.
Mr. Frere has a silver cast of an apparently authentic
didrachma, which supplies us with a variety of this obverse
type. The king's head is here uncovered. On the reverse,
traces of the monog. 29% are visible. The Arian transcript
of the name commences with the letter Phi.
32 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
2. — D Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Bare head of king with fillet, to the right. Legend
as above.
Rev. — Device and legend as in No. 1.
Monog., No. 83, with 2. A. A., xxi. 13.
Col. Abbot has two specimens of this type of coin, ex-
hibiting the monograms, Nos. 74 and 6.
3. — D Copper.
Obv. — Demeter, with the usual legend.
Rev. — Humped bull, with the usual legend.
PL iii., figs. 6, 7 ; pi. xv. 2. A. A.t ii. 18.
Monogs., Nos. 83, 83 with S on reverse, 83a, 85, 8G.
4. — D Copper.
Obv. — Crowned figure, with a long spear. BASIAEiiS
ANIKHToY *IAO#ENoY.
Rev. — A figure of Victory. Capt. Hay.
Xa. ARTEMIDORUS.
1. — D Copper.
Obv. — Erect figure, with the right arm upraised. BA-
SIAEilS
Rev. — Bull, as in Philoxenes' copper coins. (M}dhdrajasa
Apadihdta(sa A)ti(midarasa) . Mr. Bayley.
These legends have been completed from a more perfect
coin deciphered by Major Cunningham.
I conclude that this Arternidorus is the monarch styled
Artemon in Major Cunningham's list already cited ; but if
so, the style and fabric of his coinage must very materially
alter his assumed date and position in the general list.
XI. NICIAS.
Major Cunningham has published a notice of a coin,
which he attributes to a king of this name (Journal of the
BACTRIAN COINS. 33
Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xi., p. 136). It may be
described thus : —
1. — D Copper.
Obv.— Head of king, to the right. BASIAEilS SflTHPoS
NIKIoY.
Rey. — Horseman, as in No. 1, Philoxenes. Legend, Mdhd-
rajasa Tradatasa - - kidsa.
XII. APPOLLODOTUS.
1. Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Head of king. BA2IAEQS SflTHPoS KA1 *IAo-
HAToPoS AIIoAAoAoToY.
Rey. — Thessalian Minerva to the left. Legend, Mdhdrajasa
Tradatasa Apaladatasa.
Monog., No. 46, MAPHANA (?).
PL iii. 4; also pi. xiv. 4, and A. A.t iv. 13.
2. — D Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Elephant. BASIAEilS SOTHPoS AHoAAoAoToY.
Rev. — Humped bull. Legend as in No. 1. PI. xiv. 5, A. A.
3. — O Hemidrachma. Types and legends as No. 2. A.A.,iv. 15.
4. — D Copper. Small coin.
Obv. — Figure of Apollo, with bow and arrow, to the right.
Legend as in No. 1.
Rey. — Tripod. Legend ditto. Monog., No. 47.
Captain Robinson.
5. — O Copper. Large coin.
Obv. — Apollo, with arrow, to the right. Legend as in No. 2.
Rey. — Tripod. Legend as in No. 2. PI. xiv. 6.
6. — D Copper. Similar devices and legends.
7. — D Copper.
Obv. — Apollo to the front, with the bow in the left and the
arrow in the right hand. Legend as usual.
Rev. — Tripod. Legend as usual. PI. xiv. 7, 8 ; also Va-
riant's A. A., iv., figs. 17, 18, 19.
VOL. XIX. F
34 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
8. — D Copper. Middle size.
Obv. — " Figure of Apollo standing to the left, clothed in the
anaxyris, with chlamys behind, a quiver at his back ;
an arrow in his right hand, his left resting on his
bow ; inclosed in a frame of oblong globules, BA-
SIAEQS BA ...... AnoAAoAoToY."
Rev. — " Tripod ; in the field, a symbol which seems to be a
military ensign. Arianian inscription imperfect."
A. A., 291, quoting Jour, des Sav., Dec. 1838, p, 752.
9. — D Copper (middle size), indifferent execution.
Obv. — Apollo (?) seated, to the right, a bow in left hand.
BASIAEilS SftTHPoS ...... oAoToY.
Rev. — Tripod, within a frame. Legend imperfect, * * pala-
datasa (?) Monog., No. 75. Mr. E. C. Bayley.
The additional monograms on the coins of Apollodotus
are the following : —
On the Philopater coins, Nos. 1, 47 and 47a, 48, 49. On
the other varieties of his mintages, Nos. 46, 47% 50 to 72
inclusive.
Nos. 58 to 66, represent the combinations of monograms
occurring on the obverse and reverse of the same coin ; and
Nos. 69 to 72, exhibit the joint Arian letters found on the
reverse of the larger copper pieces.
XIII. ZOILUS.
1 . — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Head of king, to the right, with fillet. BA2IAEQS
AIKAIoY
Rev. — Hercules, as in Demetrius' coins, but the right hand
holding the chaplet is not upraised. Legend, Md-
hdrajasa Dhamikasa Johilasa.
Monog., No. 24b.
Lady Headfort, No. 29. Capt. Robinson, No. 77.
Col. Abbott, No. 78. Mr. Bayley, No. 79.
BACTRIAN COINS.
2. — Hemidrachma.10
Obv. as No. 1. Legend, BASIAEftS SiiTHPoS
Rev. — Thessalian Minerva. Legend, Maharajasa Tradatasa
Joliilasa. Monog., No. 51.
Col Abbott. Mr. Bayley, No. 80.
3. — D Copper.
Obv. — Head of king(?), to the right.
Rev. — Club, with bow in its case, surrounded by a chaplet.
Legend, as in No, 1.
Monog., No. 79. Lady Headfort.
4. — O Copper. Similar types to the Apollodotus coin, No. 5,
with the addition of a small elephant at the back of the
figure, in the field of the obverse. Legends as in No. 2.
5. — O Copper (small coin).
Obv. — -Elephant, to the right.
Rev. — Tripod. Monog. dhi.
XIV. DlOMEDES.
1. — rj Copper.
Obv. — Dioscuri standing, to the front. BASIAEilS Sil-
THPoS AIoMHAoY.
Rev. — Maharajasa Tradatasa Diyamedasa.
Monog., No. 29. PI. xxviii. 3. Same coin, A. A., v. 1.
Three coins of this type in the B.M., and one in the pos-
session of Mr. Bayley, all have monogs. No. 29; one
example adds the letter 5*.
XV. DlONYSIUS.
1. — Hemidrachma (of inferior execution, similar in its aspect to
the Philopator coins of Apollodotus).
Obv. — Head with fillet, to the right. BA2IAEQS 2(Q-
THPoS AIoNYZIoY.
Rev. — Thessalian Minerva. Legend, Maharajasa Tradatasa
Dianisiyasa.
Monog. (as in Apollodotus' coins), No. 51. Col. Abbott.
10 These coins have a great similitude, in their die execution,
to the small Philopator coins of Apollodotus.
36 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
A second specimen gives the 5* in the name more after
the form of a real sigma. The outline of the Ni, in the
Arian legend, is also modified in the duplicate coin.
Monog. No. 51.
2. — D Copper.
Obv.— Apollo, to the right, as in Apollodotus' coins.
BASIAEilS SilTHPoS AIoNYSIoY.
Rev. — Tripod. Legend imperfect.
Monogs., consisting of Arian letters, Sh and A, No. 81.
B. M.
XVI. LYSIAS
1 . — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Head of king, with helmet in the shape of an ele-
phant's head — similar t« the Demetrius' type. Le-
gend, BASIAEilS ANIKHToY AYSIoY.
Rev. — Hercules standing, to the front, as in the Demetrius'
prototype. Legend, Mdhdrajasa Apadihdtasa Lysikasa.
Plate xliii. 4. A. A., ii. 9. Monog. 87. A. A. ,31.
Colonel Abbott has two of these coins with the several
inonogs. included under No. 88.
PL xiv. 9, 1 1 , 12 ; pi. xxviii. 1. Monog. No. 7.
2. — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Head of the king, with the ordinary style of Me-
nander helmet. Legend as above.
Rev. — Hercules, as above.
The legend varies in the Arian definition of the name,
which at times exhibits the vowel a, and at others the letter
k, as the penultimate. The five specimens of this mintage
that I have had an opportunity of examining, all have the
monog. No. 87.
3. — D Copper.
Obv. — Bare head of king, to the right. Legend as in No. 1.
Rev. — Elephant, as in Heliocles' coins. Legend as above,
the name being usually spelt with a k.
PI. xiv. 12. A.A.,i\.lQ. Num. Jour, vii., pi. ii., 22.
Monogs. Nos. 88, 7, and 74*.
BACTRIAN COINS. 37
4. — D Copper.
Obv. — Bare head of king, to the right. Legend as above.
Rev. — Caps and palm-branches of the Dioscuri. Legend,
Mdhdrajasa Jayadharasa Antialikidasa.
Capt. Hay.
XVII. ANTIALKIDES.
1 . — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Bare head of king. BA2IAE&S NIKH*oPoY
ANTIAAKIAoY.
Rev. — Jove enthroned, with a small figure of Victory in his
right hand ; elephant in front, etc. Legend, Md-
hdrajasa Jayadharasa Antialikidasa.
Monog., No. 87. Col. Abbott.
*). — Hemidrachma. Similar types and legends. A. A., ii. 12.
Monogs., No. 7 and 87.
2. —Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Head of king, with Causia. Legend as above.
Rev. as in No. 1. A. A., ii. II.
Monogs., Nos. 7, 74a, 87.
3. — Hemidrachma.
Obv.— Head, with the ordinary crested helmet. Legend
and reverse device as usual. A. A., No. 3, p. 277.
4. — O Copper.
Obv.— Head.
Rev. — Caps and palms of Dioscuri. Legends as usual.
A. A., No. 6, p. 279.
5. — D Copper. Similar devices and legends. PL xiv.,.9, 10, 11.
These two classes of coins vary occasionally in the sub-
ordinate typical details,11 and the Arian definition of the
name is irregular in the general series, in the interchange
of the dental and cerebral d, as the penultimate consonant.
Other monograms, Nos. 29 a, 88% 85 a.
11 Ex Gr. Num. Chron. vii., pi. ii., fig. 21.
38 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
XVIII. AMYNTAS.
1. — Didrachma. Much damaged. (Weight, 128 grs.)
Obv. — Helmeted head, to the right. BASIAE&S NIKA-
ToPoS AMYNToY.
Rev. — Thessalian Minerva, to the left. Legend, Maharajasa
Jayadharasa Amitasa. B.M. monog., No, 75.
2. — D Copper.
Obv. — Head of king, to the right. Legend as above.
Rev. — Minerva armed, to the left. Legend as in No. 1 .
Monog., No. 104. PI. xxxii. 1. A. A., ii. 14.
XIX. ARCHEBIUS.
1. — Tetradrachma.
Obv.— Bare head. BASIAEflS AIKAIoY NIKHfcoPoY
APXEBIoY.
Rev. — Jupiter standing to the front, with spear and thunder-
bolt. Legend, Maharajasa Dhamikasa Jayadharasa
A'khabiyasa.
Monog., No. 106. Col. Abbott.™
•). — Hemidrachma. Similar types and legends. PI. xxviii. 1 .
A.A.,u. 8. Monog., No. 7.
2. — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Helmeted head.
Rev. as No. 1. Monog., No. 75s. Col. Abbott.
12 i regret to say that my notes on the typical details of
Col. Abbott's coins are very imperfect. I was somewhat pressed
for time on the only opportunity I had of inspecting his rich and
varied collection, and at the moment entertained no design of
publishing the result of my scrutiny ; hence my memoranda,
I find, refer to doubtful and difficult readings, special coin-
cidences of design, and monogrammatic data, rather than to
the die specifications ordinarily demanded by exact numismatists.
My notes of interrogation will indicate what I supply from
memory.
BACTRIAN COINS. 39
3 . — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Bust of the king with bare head, to the left, a javelin
in the right hand, as in one of the common classes of
Menander's coins (No. 4). Legend as above.
Rev. — Jove (Neptune ?) as above, with similar legend.
Monog., No. 7 with 105. A. A., xxi. 10.
4. — O Copper.
Obv. — Victory, to the right, extending a fillet. Legend as
usual.
Rev. — An owl. Monog. 106.
R. Rochette, Jour, des Sav., Feb. 1839. A.A., p. 280.
5. — D Copper. Similar devices and legends. B. M. monogs.,
No. 106 and 106a.
XX. MENANDER.
1. — Didrachma.
Obv.— Head of king, to the right. BASIAEftS SQTHPoS
MENANAPoY.
Rev. — Thessalian Minerva, to the left. Mdhdrajasa Tra-
datasa Menadrasa.
Monog., S, and 24b. A. A., iii. 13.
a) — Hemidrachma. Same types. PL iii. 5; and A. A., iii. 14.
2. — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Head of king with helmet, to the right.
Rev. — Minerva. Similar legends to the above.
A. A., iii. 15.
3. — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Head of king with helmet and javelin.
Rev. — Minerva. A. A., iv. 2
4 . — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Bare head of king, to the left ; the right hand grasps
a javelin.
Rev. as usual.
a) — Hemidrachma. Similar devices, with the legends dif-
ferently arranged. PI. xiv. 1.
40 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
5.— Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Helmeted head, as in No. 2.
Rev. — An owl. Legends as in No. 4*.
6. — D Copper.
Obv. — Bare head, to the right.
Rev. — A dolphin. PL xxxii. 8. A.A., iv. 3.
7. — D Copper.
Obv. — Bare head, to the left, with javelin, as in No. 4.
Rev. — Minerva, to the right. Legends as usual.
A.A.,b.7.
8. — D Copper.
Obv. — Helmeted head.
Rev. — Winged figure of Victory, to the right, with palm-
branch and wreath. PI. xiv. 3.
*) — D Copper.
Rev. — Victory, to the left.
There are other subordinate varieties of these coins, see
A. A., p. 285.
9. — D Copper.
Obv. — Helmeted head, to the right.
Rev. — Owl. PI. xxxii. 6 ; A. A., iv. 8.
10. — D Copper.
Obv. — Helmeted head, to the right.
Rev. — Shield of Minerva. PI. xxxii. 5. A. A., iv. 12.
11. — D Copper.
Obv. — Boar's head.
Rev. — Palm-branch. PI. xxxii. 9. A. A., iv. 9.
12.— D
Obv. — Elephant's head.
Rev.— Club of Hercules. PI. xiv. 2. A. A., iv. 10.
18. — D Copper.
Obv.— Wheel.
.Bet;.— Club. PL xxxii. 7. A. A., iv. 1 1 .
BACTRIAN COINS. 41
14. — n Copper.
Obv. — Figure, to the front ; helmet and lance. Legend,
B AIKAIoY MENANAPoY.
Rev. — Panther. Quoted by Wilson, A. A., p, 287, from
R. Rochette, Jour, des Sav., Dec. 1838, p. 751.
15. — D Copper.
Obv. — Elephant, to the left. Legend imperfect, but ex-
hibiting traces of the name of Menander. /3a<riAEilS
StiTHPoS yuENai'fyou.
Rev. — An ankus (or elephant-goad). Legend, imperfect,
\Mah.drd\jasa Trada\tasa~] - - -
Monog., No. 89. E. C. Bayley.
Full List of Monograms :— Nos. 7, 24 b, 26, 26 with A, 26 a
with A, 29, 29 a with H, ditto with B, 55, 56 a, 74a, 77, 77 with
A, 77 a, 77 and 77 a, each repeated on the several specimens on
the obverse and reverse; 79, 87, 87 with S, E, and T, on the
several examples; 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 94a, 95, 96, 97, 97*.
XXI. STRATO.
1 . — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Head in profile, to the right. BASIAEiiS EHI-
$ANoYS SiiTHPoS STPATONoS.
Rev. — Minerva Promachos (as in Menander coins. Legend,
Mdhdrajasa Pratichasa (?) Tradatasa Stratasa.
Two specimens. B. M. Monog., No. 7.
2. — D Copper.
Obv. — Apollo, as in Apollodotus' coin, No. 7. Legend as
in No. 1 .
Rev. — Tripod. Legend as in No. 1.
E. I. H., monog., No. 7.
3. — D Copper.
Obv. — King's bust, with club resting on his right shoulder.
Legend, BASIAEOS 2£lTHPoS STPATilNoS.
Rev. — Victory. Legend, Mdhdrajasa Tradatasa Stratasa.
Monog., No. 99. Mr. Bayley.
VOL. XIX. G
42 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
4. — D Copper.
Obv.— Type as in No. 3. Legend, BASIAEtiS SilTHPoS
AIKAIoY STPATiiNoS.
Rev. — Type as in No. 3. Legend, Mdhdrajasa Tradatasa
Dhamikasa Stratasa.
Monog., No. 99. B.M. Other monogs., Nos. 74 a, 99, 100.
See also the debased hemidrachmas of Strato noticed by
Major Cunningham in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal, vii. of 1854, p. 691. Early publications of some of
the above coins are also to be found in that author's papers
in J.A.S.B., vol. xi. 1840 and
XXIa. AGATHOCLEIA
(WIFE OF STRATO).
1. — D Copper.
Obv.— Female head, helmeted. BASIAI2SAS GEoTPoHoY
ArAOoKAEIAS.
Rev. — Hercules with club, seated. Mdhdrajasa Tradatasa
Dhamikasa Stratasa.
Monog., No. 100. J.A.S.B., v., pi xxxii. 2. A. A., vi. 10.
Mr. Bayley..
XXII. HlPPOSTRATUS.
j _
Obv. — Bare head of king, to the right, with fillet. BA-
SIAEftS SOTHPoS miloSTPAToY.
Rev. — Helmeted figure, right hand extended, the left sup-
ports a cornucopia (Demeter?). Legend, Mdhdrajasa
Tradatasa Hipastratasa.
Monog., No. 103, with an Arian A on the other side of the
figure. E.C.B. and B. M.
2 . — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Bare head of king, to the right, with fillet. BA-
SIAEOS MEFAAoY S&THPoS IIIIIoSTPAToY.
Rev. — Helmeted figure on horseback, to the right; horse in
motion. Mdhdrajasa Tradatasa Mahdtasa Jaydtasa
Hipastratasa. Monog., No. 101.
Mr. Bayley. B. M., No. 47b. Col. Abbott, 47.
BACTRIAN COINS. 43
3 . — Tetradrachma.
Obv. — Device and legend as in No. 1.
Rev. — Horseman, motionless. Legend as in No. 2.
Monog., No. 101, with the several adjuncts of, copied under
No. 1 02. Mr. Bayley and B. M.
4. — D Copper.
Obv. — Apollo standing, to the right. Legend as in No. 1 .
Rev.- -A. tripod. Legend as in No. 1.
Monogs. as in No. 1.
XXIII. TELEPHUS.
1. — Major Cunningham has made public the only known coin of
this king. (J.A.S. B., xi. 133.)
Obv. — " An ancient giant, full front, with snaky legs, which
curl upwards on each side." BASIAEiiS EYEP-
TEToY THAEfcoY.
Rev. — " A draped male figure standing, to the left, his
head crowned with rays, and holding in his right
hand a spear; to the right, a clothed female figure,
with a crescent on her head. Legend, Maharajasa
- - - kramasa Talipliasa. Monog., No. 98.
XXIV. HERM/EUS.
1. — Didrachma.
Obv.— Head of king, to the right. BASIAEQS SdTHPoS
EPMAIoY.
Rev. — Jove enthroned, right hand extended. Maharajasa
Tradatasa Hermayasa.
Monog., E. L H., No. 1 10. PI. xviii. 1. A.A., v. 3.
a) — Hemidrachma. Similar types. Monog., No. 83 of Wilson's
list. A.A.,\. 3.
2. — Hemidrachma. HERM.EUS AND CALLIOPE.
Obv. — Male and female heads, to the right. BASIAEilS
SflTHPoS EPMAIoY KAI KAAAIoELES.
Rev. — Horseman, as in Antimachus' coins. Maharajasa
Tradatasa Hermayasa ; and at the foot of the reverse,
Kaliyapaya.
A. A., xxi. 14, Capt. Robinson, Mr. Bayley, etc., all apparently
have the same monog., No. 107.
44 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
3. — O Copper, identical in type and devices with No. 1.
xviii. 2, 3, 4. A. A., v. 4, 5, 6. Monogs., No. 108, with
the several Bactrian letters classed under No. 109.
4. — D Copper.
Obv. — Head of king, with curiously arranged head-dress.
Legend, B. 2. E.
Rev. — Horse standing, to the right. Legend as usual.
PI. xxviii. 11. A. A., v. 7, and xxi. 15.
Monog., No. 3a and 29.
General List of Monogs.:— 3a, 23aa, 29. 41 », 44, 48, 107,
107a, with Arian letters, k, s; 108, with elongated downstroke
of R, associated with the Bactrian letters, trd, v, dh, sh, and n (?);
108 to 112, 113 to 118.
XXIV a. SU-HERM^US.
1. — O Copper.
Obv. — Head of king, to the right. Legend, imperfect,
BASIAEliS STHPoS SY EPMAIOY.
Rev. — Hercules standing, with his club resting on the ground.
Legend, Dhama Phidasa Kujula Kasasa Kushanyatu-
gasa. PI. xviii. 9 ; xxviii. 10. A. A., v. 8, 9, etc.
XXV. MAUAS.
1. — Didrachma. (Weight, 151*4 grs.)
Obv. — Male figure, to the front ; right arm extended, the
left supports a spear. BASIAE&S BASIAEiiN
MEFAAoY MAYoY.
Rev. — Victory, with a chaplet, to the right. Rajadirajasa
Mahatasa Madsa.
Monog., No. 47a. B.M., Capt. Robinson, No. 47.
Lady Sale's coin (weight, 143 grs.), monog. No. 106.
*) — Hemidrachma. Similar types. Capt. Robinson, monog. 47.
2 . — Didrachma.
Obv. — A biga, with horses at speed. The driver wears a
helmet ; the chief figure rests upon a spear, a nim-
bus surrounds the head. Legend as in No. 1.
Rev. — Jove enthroned, as in Hermseus' coins, with triple-
pointed spear (trident?). Legend as in No. 1.
Monog., No. 98a. Capt. Robinson.
BACTRIAN COINS. 45
3. — O Copper.
Obv. — Elephant's head.
Rev. — Caduceus. BASIAEiiS MAYoY.
Monog., No. 106. B. M. PL xiii. 4. A.A., viii. 11.
4. — D Copper (small coin).
Obv. — Apollo, to the front, as in Apollodotus' coins ; arrow
in the right, and bow in the left hand. BASIAEQS
MAYoY.
Rev. — Tripod. Legend, Maharajasa Madsa. B.M.
5. — D Copper.
Obv. — Female figure, to the front, with spear and crescent
above the head. Two six-pointed stars or constella-
tions appear in the upper part of the field, one on
each side of the figure. Legend, BA2IAEOS
BASIAEilN MEFAAoY MAYoY.
Rev. — Victory with chaplet, to the left. Legend, Rajadi-
rajasa Mahatasa Madsa.
Monog., No. 120.
6. — D Copper.
Olv. — Jove enthroned, with small figure at the side.
Rev. — Female figure, as on the obverse of No. 5.
Monog., No. 120. A. A., p. 315.
7. — O Copper.
Obv. — Figure clothed in skins, with nimbus.
Rev. — Indian bull, to the left.
Monog., No. 106.
B.M. Mr. Bayley and Capt. Robinson, monog., No. 49.
8. — D Copper.
Obv. — Male figure, with club and trident, flowing robes, etc.
Monog., No. 121.
Rev. — Victory, with loose garments (similar to the figure on
the obverse), and a varied style of chaplet.
PI. xliii., fig. 11. A. A., viii. 10.
( To be continued.)
46
MISCELLANEA.
DESCRIPTION G^NE'RALE DBS MONNAIES DE LA REPUBLIQUE ROMAINE,
COMMUN^MEKT APPEL^ES M^DAILLES CONSULAIRES PAR H. COHEN.
Paris, 4°. 1857.
It is now some time since the numismatic public have been
made aware, that M. Cohen, long known as a most learned and
able collector of Roman silver coins, was engaged on a work
that would illustrate the chief riches of his own cabinet, and, at
the same time, would throw considerable light on a class of coins
too little studied : those referring to the earlier part of the his-
tory of Rome, antecedent to the establishment of the empire.
We rejoice to find, that the expectations so long entertained
have not been disappointed, and that M. Cohen has been able,
with the aid of his accomplished publisher, M. Rollin, and with
the careful drawings of M. Dardel, whom he characterises as " le
plus habile artiste de Paris en ce genre," to produce a volume
which completely surpasses and throws into the shade all that
has been hitherto done on this subject. We rejoice at this the
more, from our own personal knowledge that the learned author
of the work we are now noticing, may himself be regarded
justly as one of the most zealous and indefatigable numismatists
in Europe, and, therefore, peculiarly well fitted to give a prac-
tical illustration of the interesting and, in many respects, difficult
class of coins to which he has paid attention in the volume before
us. The coins of which M. Cohen has given a description, are of
that class which has always found more favour on the Continent
than with English collectors. Ever since the revival of learning,
no class of coins, with the exception of the Roman large brass,
had so constantly occupied the attention of learned men in Italy.
Nor is this unnatural ; the native money of the people who so
long ruled over the fairest provinces of Italy, we should expect,
that when the learning of mankind was again turned into chan-
nels which had been so long closed up and neglected, these
ancient types would be considered with more than usual interest.
We rejoice, therefore, that in M. Cohen's new work he has boldly
given these coins their true designation, and has termed them
NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE. 47
•what they really are, the coins of the Romans during the time
of the Republic. Nor is this the only thing we think deserving
praise in its arrangement : for M. Cohen has, wisely, in the
assortment of his plates, separated the gold and the silver from
the copper, an arrangement which greatly conduces to clearness,
and which might be advantageously followed by any future
writers or publishers of coins. M. Cohen has rendered his work
much more valuable, and, at the same time, very interesting to
read, by some excellent notes he has attached to each of the
families he has described, and which he has modestly intituled
" e"claircissements." Some of these throw much light on the
history of the times to which they refer, and are valuable addi-
tions to the slight information we previously possessed on these
subjects. The book is enriched by no less than seventy-five
plates, executed with great care, under the experienced eye of the
author, by M. Dardel, whose skill is well shown in the clearness
with which he has rendered to the eye some of the smallest and
most complex of this " Consular Money." With all these points
in its favour, we have great pleasure in recommending to the
notice of our numismatic friends the work of M. Cohen, which we
consider to be one of the most valuable monographs which has
been published for many years.
ENGRAVINGS OF UNEDITED OR RARE GREEK COINS, WITH DESCRIP-
TIONS. BY LIEUT.-GENERAL C. R. Fox. Bell and Daldy, 1856.
We hail with great pleasure the publication of this monograph,
and trust that its appearance may induce others, who, like
General Fox, are in the possession of rare and practically un-
known coins, to follow the excellent example he has set them.
We say this advisedly : even if there were more errors than may
be detected in this little volume, we should still hold that the
example it offers to others is worthy of all encouragement. We
are glad, therefore, to see the first portion of the General's work,
and sincerely trust that health and opportunity may be afforded
him, to give us another and similar fasciculus. The present por-
tion comprehends a description of 114 selected coins, beginning
with Massalia in France, and extending to the Island of Siphnos :
among them will be found many coins of great interest and rarity,
and some which have been hardiy known before. The mono-
graph is rendered mnch more valuable by the plates which the
General has had the trouble to have engraven of all the speci-
mens he has here selected for description : they have been executed
by M. Dardel, a gentleman well known on the continent for his
skill in such matters, and are superior to any that have, of late
years, at least, been produced in England. It is hard to select
48 MISCELLANEA.
where all the engravings are well done ; but we might, perhaps,
notice among the most successful of M. Dardel's drawings, Nos. 5,
6, 7, 17, 30, 32, 43, 44, 57, 63, 64, 96, 110. These could not
have been better, or more accurately executed. With these plates
in his hand, the student has no necessity to refer to the coins
themselves.
In speaking thus warmly of General Fox's work, we must not
be supposed to be ignorant of some errors that have crept into it,
and which we hope will not be seen in any subsequent portion
that he may publish. Thus, occasionally, we notice, in the de-
scriptive text, that the Greek legends on the coins, or portions of
them, have been omitted, as in Nos. 33, 34, 62, 63 ; while in
other cases, as Nos. 35, 46, 49, 52, the wrong metal has been
annexed.
V.
CATALOGUE OF BACTRIAN COINS.
(Continued from page 45.)
9. — D Copper.
Obv. — Elephant.
Rev. — Seated figure. Monog., No. 122.
Mr. Frere, pi. xv., fig. 1 1 . Jour, des Sav., 1 839.
10. — D Copper.
Obv. — Male figure, to the left (indistinct).
Rev. — Lion, to right. PL xv. 7.
11. — D Copper.
Obv. — Neptune, with trident, treading upon a prostrate
figure.
Rev. — Figure surrounded with branches.
Monog., No. 120. Colonel NutlwU. A. A., p. 314.
12. — D Copper.
Obv. — Neptune, with the right foot placed on a prostrate
figure as in No. 1 1 ; the left hand rests on a trident,
while the right is raised in the act of hurling the
thunderbolt.
Rev. as in No. 11. Monog. illegible. Lady Elliot.
13. — D Copper.
Obv. as No 12, except that Neptune holds a palm -branch
in the left hand in lieu of a trident.
Rev. as No. 12. Monog., a modification of No. 47.
Mr. Bayley.
14. — D Copper.
Obv. — Horseman, with a fold of his dress flying loose be-
hind him. (Monog. illegible.)
Rev. — Helmeted figure, in loose garments, moving to the
right, holding a garland in the right and a spear in
the left hand, Monog., mi. Mr. Bayley.
VOL. XIX. H
50 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
15. — D Copper.
Obv. — Horseman, with spear.
Rev. — Winged Victory, to the left, holding a chaplet in the
right hand. Monog., No. 47. Mr. Bayley.
16. — D Copper.
Obv. — Standing male figure, to the front ; right arm up-
lifted, in the left a club. Monog., No. 127a, with
P instead of Y in the upper limb, and Arian ti.
Rev. — Indian bull, to the right. Monog. No. 108 a
Mr. Bayley.
A second coin, in the possession of Mr.H.Brereton, gives
the name clearly as MAToT.
17. — D Copper.
Obv. — Elephant.
Rev. — Indian bull. Capt. Hay,
XXVI. KADPHISES.
1 . — Copper.
Obv. — Head as in the Su-Hermseus' coins. Legend,
KOPCHAo KOZOYAO KAA«I>IZOY.
Rev. — Hercules as above. Legend, Dhama Phidasa Kujula
Kasasa Kushanyatuyasa.
PI. xxviii. 12. A. A., xi. 10, 11.
XXV I a. KOZOLA KADAPHES.
1. — O Copper small coin.
Obv.- Youthful head. Legend, KoZoAA KAAA*EE
XOPAN CY ZA9oY.
Rev. — A Scythic figure. Legend, Khashanasa Yduasa
Kuyula Kaphasasa Sachha dhani phidasa.
Monog., No. 119. PL xviii. 13, 14, 15 ; xxviii. 13, 14.
A.A., xi. 14.
XXVP. KODES.
1 . — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Barbarous head of king. KwAoY.
Rev. — Erect figure, with flames issuing from his shoulders ;
the right hand rests upon a spear. PAHGPoY
MAKAP. PL xiii. 11.12, 13. A. A., ix. 1, 2, 3, 5.
BACTRIAN COINS. 61
2. — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Head as above.
Rev. — Horse's head. KwA.
PI. xxxii. 16, 17, 18. A. A., ix. 4, 6, 7.
XXVII. VONONES (AND AZAS).
CLASS A.
I understand that Major Cunningham has discovered
coins with the above combination of names. The specimens
are engraved in his unpublished plates, but I do not con-
sider myself authorised to quote them in any detail beyond
this notice of the interesting historical fact they suffice to
substantiate.
VONONES (AND SPALAHARES).
CLASS B.
1 . — Didrachma.
Obv. — Azas' horseman with spear, at the charge, to
the right. BASIAES12 BASIAEiiN MEFAAoY
pNGNoY,
Rev. — Jupiter, with spear and bolts. Maharaja Bhrata
Dhamik /set Spalahdrasa.
Monog., No. 131. Copt. Robinson.
a) — Hemidrachma. Similar types and legends. PL xv. 5 .
A. A., viii. 8. Monog. 130, 131.
2. — D Copper.
Obv. — Hercules, with club and lion's skin, and right hand
raised to the head. BA2IAEOS BASIAEiiN ME-
FAAoY oNQNoY.
Rev. — Minerva, to the left, armed with shield and spear.
Maharaja Bhrata Dhamikasa Spalahdrasa.
Monog., No. 130. PI. xv. 10. A. A., viii. 9.
VONONES (AND SPALAGADAMES, SON OF SPALAHARES).
CLASS C.
1 . — Hemidrachma.
Obv. — Azas' horseman, with spear. BASIAEiiS BA-
SIAEftN MEFAAoY oNiiNoY.
Rev. — Jupiter, with spear and bolts. Spalahdra Putrasa
Dhamikasa Spalagadamasa.
Monogs., B. M. coin, 132. Col. Sykes, 133.
52 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
SPALIRISES AND AZAS.
CLASS D.
1 . — Didrachma.
Obv.— Azas' horseman. BACIAEGUC MEFAAoY PIIAAI-
PlCoY.
Rev. — Jove, as above. Mdhdrajasa Mahdtakasa Ayasa.
Mr. Frere, monog. 134.
2. — O Copper.
Obv.— Azas, horseman. B. M. PIIAAIPlCoY.
Rev. — A bow and arrow. Mdhdrajasa Mahdtakasa Ayasa.
Mr. Bayley, monog. 133 a.
CLASS Co.
XXVIII. SpALAGADAMES, or SPALYR1AS (alone),
THE BROTHER OF THE KINO.
1. — D Copper.
Obv.— Azas' horseman. ClIAAYPIoY AIKAIoY AAEAfcoY
ToY BACIAEOC.
Rev. — Hercules, seated on a rock. Spalahdra putrdsa
Dhamikasa Spalagadamasa.
PL xv. 9; xxviii. 6, and xlii. 3. A. A., viii. 13.
Monogs., the second figure in Nos. 113, 132, 136.
CLASS D a.
XXIX. SPALIRISES (alone).
1. — D Copper.
Obv.— Female figure, to the left. BAClAEOiN BACIAEGOC
MEFAAOY PHAAIP1COY.
Rev. — Jove, enthroned. Mdhdrajasa Mdhdtakasa Spaliri-
sasa. PI. xv 6; xxviii.7. A.A., viii. 12. B.M., etc.
Monogs., Nos. 135, 135 a, and 135ft.
XXX. AZAS.
1 . — Didrachma.
Obv. — The standard Azas' type of horseman, to the right;
the spear point slightly depressed. BASIAEiiS
BAZIAEHN MEFAAoY AZoY.
BACTRIAN COINS. 53
Rev. — Female figure, with palm-branch in the left, and a
four-pointed object (like some of the Scythian mo-
nograms) in the right hand. Mdhdrajasa Raja-
rajasa Mahatasa Ayasa.
Monog., Capt. Robinson, 125, with Arian letters, mi.
A. A., vi. 12.
a). — Hemidrachmas.
B.M. monog., No. 123, with Arian letters bh and dh.
Capt. Robinson, 173, with the letters san.
Do. do. 47, with B and an Arian T.
Do. do. 47, with A and an Arian T.
Do. do. 47, with an Arian T alone.
Do. do. 124, with an Arian si.
Capt. Robinson, with dh and mi. A. A.y vi. 18.
2. — Didrachma.
Obv. — Horseman, as above.
Rev. — Minerva Promachos, to the left.
B.M. monog., 103, with an Arian A. Capt. Robinson, ditto.
A second has monog. 103 with No. 125.
a). — Hemidrachma. B.M. monog., 103, with A.
Capt. Robinson, monog. 103 with 125.
3. — Didrachma.
Obv. — Horseman, as above.
Rev. — Jupiter, with spear and bolts.
Capt. Robinson, monog. 126, with bh. B.M., 126, with dh.
4. — Variety of No. 3. Didrachma.
Obv. — Horseman, as above, with the letters Pri below the
horse.
Rev. — Jove, with the spear or sceptre, triple-pointed, the
points diverging from one centre.
Monog., No. 103, with A.
5 . — Didrachma
Obv. as above. Monog., li.
Rev. — Jove, with triple-pointed sceptre ; but the right hand
is elevated in the act of throwing the thunderbolt.
Monog., No. 103a, with A. Capt. Robinson.
54 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
*). — Hemidrachma. Monog., No. 103 a, with Arian A. B.M.,
Capt. Robinson, etc.
b). — Hemidrachma. Variant.
Obv. — As above.
Rev. — Jupiter rayed, to the front, leaning on a spear. The
bolts are held in the right hand, low down.
Monog., No. 129. Capt. Robinson.
6. — Didrachma.
Obv. — The Azas' horseman, to the right, without the spear ;
the right hand of the figure is extended above the
horse's head. Monog., s.
Rev. — Minerva, to the right, helmeted and armed with
buckler ; right hand extended.
Captain Robinson, monog. 49, with A. Lady Elliot, double
monog., 144. Mr. Game's collection, group 14 ia.
a). — Hemidrachma. Mr.Bayley, monog. 103, with A.
7 . — Didrachma.
Obv. — Horseman, as above, with whip in the right hand.
Rev. — Standing figure, with spear, holding a small statue
of Victory. PI. xvii. 17(?). A. A., vi. 15, 16(?), 17.
B.M. monog. 47 with 48, and Arian letters T, bu, dh, etc.;
others, with T, omit No. 48.
a). — Hemidrachma. Monog., No. 137, with San; a second,
No. 1 38, with dh and s. Lady Elliot.
8. — Didrachma.
Obv. — Horseman, as above. Monog., ti.
Rev. — Minerva, with spear, to the right ; bare head, and
right arm extended.
Monog., No. 103 with 123s. PI. xvii. 15. A. A., vi. 13.
(8). —Variety. Billon.
Rev. — Similar figure, with triple-pointed spear. Monog.,
No. 149.
9. — Didrachma. Billon.
Obv. — As above.
Rev. — Neptune, with trident, to the front.
Monog., No. 127, with si. PI. xvii. 16. A. A., vi. 14.
BACTRIAN COINS. 55
10. — H emidrach ma.
Obv. — Horseman, as above.
Rev. — Minerva, armed with spear and shield, with the right
arm upraised. PL xvii. 18. A. A., vi. 19.
B.M monog. 128, with Ssh. Capt. Robinson 128% sashi;
and 128* with 127a. Another: Obv. monog. A.
Rev. 126a, with an indistinct symbol like 125.
1 1. — Drachma.
Obv. — King, standing, to the left ; right hand extended,
and sloped spear on his left shoulder.
Rev. — Winged figure of Victory, to the right, holding out a
chaplet. Monog., No. 52.
10. — D Copper.
Obv. — Neptune, treading on a prostrate figure. Legend as
above.
Rev. — Female figure, surrounded by branches. Legend as
above. Monog., No. 52. PI. xvii. 14. A. A., vii. 5.
11. — D Copper.
Obv. — King, riding on a Bactrian camel.
Rev. — Thibetan yak (or long-haired bull). A. A., vii. 6.
12. — D Copper.
Obv. — King on horseback, with spear sloped.
Rev.— Bull.
Monog., No. 103, with T. Ditto with A, Capt. Robinson.
PI. xvi. 9. A. A., vii. 12. Other monogs., No. 161, variants.
13. — D Copper.
Obv. — Hercules, to the front, with chaplet upraised in his
right hand, and club in the left, after the manner of
the reverse devices of Demetrius. Monog., 131.
Rev. — Horse, free, to the right. Monog., mi.
PI. xv. 8. A. A., vii. 7.
14. — O Copper.
Obv. — Elephant, to the right.
Rev. — Indian bull, to the right. PL xvi. 4, 5. A.A., vii. 10.
Monogs., Nos. 150, 151, with variants.
56 NUMISMATIC CHRONIELE.
15. — O Copper.
Obv. — Humped bull, to the right.
Rev. — Indian lion, to the right. Legend, Maharajasa
Eajadirajasa Mahatasa Ayasa. With combined
monogs. from 142 to 149.
PI. xvi., figs. 1, 2, 3. A. A., vii. 8.
'). — Small coins. Similar types. A. A., vii. 9.
b). — D (?) A. A., vii. 3. Monog. A. Rev. monog., Pr,
16. — O Copper.
Obv. — Demeter, seated on a throne.
Rev. — Hermes, standing. PL xvi. 10. A. A., vii. 12.
Most common monog., No. 147.
17. — O Copper.
Obv. — Figure, seated cross-legged.
Rev. — Hermes, standing. PL xvi. 12. A. A., vii. 13, 14.
Monogs., Nos. 153 to 160.
*). — Small coins, ditto A. A., vii. 15.
18. — O Copper.
Obv. — Female figure, standing, to the left.
Rev. — Humped bull, to the right.
Mr. Bayley, monogs. indistinct.
19. — O Copper.
Obv. — A lion, sejant. Legend, blundered and unintelligible.
Rev. — Rude figure of Demeter, seated. Legend, Mdhdra-
jasa - - - Ayasa. Monog., No. 47, with ti.
Mr. Bayley.
20. — O Copper. Minute coin. Types similar to No. 7.
Monog., Obv. No. 169, and mi. Rev. No. 47, and Sau.
Mr. Bayley.
21. — O Copper.
Obv. — Horseman, with right hand raised. Monog., 119a.
Rev. — Demeter, standing, to the front; right arm extended,
the left supports the cornucopia. Legend, Mdhd-
rajasa Mahatasa Dhamikasa Rajadirajasa Ayasa.
PL xvii. 22. Monogs, No. 177, 177a, 178, 178a, and 178b,
with variants.
BACTRIAN COINS. 57
SUB-AZAS.
22.— O Copper.
Obv. — Azas horseman, with right hand holding a whip.
Legend, B. B. M. AZoY. Monog., No. 139 (Agaj ?)
Rev. — Minerva, helmeted, with spear and shield, to the
right; the right hand supports a small figure of
Victory. Legend,13 Indra Varma Putrasa Aspa-
varmasa Strategasa Jayatasa (Aspavarma, son of
Indra Varma).
Monogs., No. 140, with 125, and the several Arian letters
entered in the plate. My Cabinet.
XXXI. AZILISAS.
1. — Didrachma.
Obv. — Azas' horseman, with spear. BASIAEilS BA-
SIAE&N MEFAAoY AZIAlEoY. (Monog., ft'.
A. A. coin)
Rev. — Figure, to the left, holding the four-pointed object in
the right, and palm-branch in the left hand. J/a-
hdrajasa Rajarajasa Mahatasa Ayilishasa. Monogs.,
B.M., 123 with San and Sh; ditto, 124 with Si.
B.M. monog., S with si and G. Capt. Robinson, monog. 124
with si and S. A. A., viii. 5.
»). — Hemidrachma. Similar types. B. M. monog., 125 a with /.
Capt. Robinson, monog. S with an Arian H.
2. — Didrachma.
Obv. as above, with Arian letter S in the field.
Rev. — Female figure, to the left, with chaplet and palm-
branch. Monog., No. 75. A. A., viii. 6.
3. — Didrachma. (145 grs.)
Obv. — Azas' horseman, to the right, with whip and the bow
fixed behind the saddle. Monog., No. 137.
Rev. — Dioscuri, standing to the front, leaning on their spears.
Legend, Mdhdrajasa Rajadirajasa Mahatasa Ayili'
shasa. Monogs., San and As (?)
Mr.Bayley. Col. Nuthall, Obv. monog., 137 with B, and
Rev. 171.
13 Cunningham, Jour. Asiatic Society of Bengal, vii. of 1854.
VOL. XIX. I
58 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
4. — Didrachma. (142 grs.)
Obv. as No. 3. Monog., 137a.
Rev. — Single figure, clothed in skins, to the front; the
right hand grasps a spear, the left rests upon the
sword hilt. Monog., No. 170. Mr. Bayley.
5. — D Copper.
Obv. — Standing figure, to the front (indistinct), with right
arm extended, and mantle on the left. Monog., 74b.
Rev. — Lion, as in Azas coins. Monog., No. 172. A second
coin has mi (?) Mr. Bayley. Capt. Robinson.
6. — D Copper.
Obv. — Azas horseman.
Rev.— Bull, to the left.
B.M. monog., 125 with mi, and traces of monog. 126.
").— Rev.— Bull, to the right.
7. — D Copper.
Obv. — Azas horseman.
Rev. — Elephant. Mdhdrajasa Mahatasa Ayilishasa.
Monog., variety of No. 124, with Si. A. A., viii. 7.
8. — D Copper.
Obv. — Horseman.
Rev. — Hercules, seated, with cluh, and as in Spalyrias' coins.
Monog., No. 124. Mr. Bayley.
And a second .piece, 173. Ordinary monog., No. 124, with
Arian s, si, or ti.
9. — D Copper.
Obv. — Standing figure, to the right; with the right arm
extended horizontally, and holding a chaplet.
Rev. — Figure in short tunic, but with loose veil-like gar-
ments around the head, etc. Mr. Bayley.
XXXII. SOTER MEGAS
1. — O Copper.
Obv. — Bust of king, with crested helmet, to the left ; the
right hand holds an arrow. Monog., No. 167, with
the Arianlette rs, ti, in front of the profile.
BACTRIAN COINS. 59
Rev. — Azas' type of horseman, to the right, elevating a small
object like a cross. BACIA6V BACIAGVCON
COOTHP MGrAC.
Monog., No. 1 67. Mr. Bayley. A. A., ix. 8, 10.
2.— O Copper.
Obv. — Bust of king, with rayed head ; the right hand holds
either a javelin with pennons or a simple dart.
Monog., No. 167.
Rev. as above. Monog., No. 167. Pl.xvii.26. A.A.,ix.
11, 12, etc.
There are numerous subordinate varieties of this type of
coin, which it is needless to particularise in this place.
3. — O Copper.
Obv. — King on horseback, to the right. Legend as above.
Monog., No. 167.
Rev. — A male figure, with flat helmet and fillet, casting in-
cense upon a small altar. Legend, Mdhdrajasa Ra-
jadirajasa Mahatasa Tradatasa. Monog., ti.
PI. xviii. 23. A.A.,ix. 20, 21,22
4. — O Copper.
Obv. — Head with fillet, to the right. Monog., No. 167.
Rev. — Standing figure, to the left, holding a staff or spear
in the left hand, and what may possibly be intended
for the thunderbolt in the right. Greek legend
(imperfect). Mr. Bayley.
XXXIK KADPHISES.
1 . — Gold. Unique.
Obv. — King, seated after the oriental fashion (cross-legged )
on clouds. He holds a club in his hand, and small
flames ascend from his shoulders ; he wears a Scythic
cap surmounted by a single-centred trident. Legend,
BACIAEYC ooHMo KAA*lCllC. Monog., 168.
Rev. — Siva and his hull (Nandi) ; flames rise from the
divinity's head, and he holds a trident in his right
hand. Legend, Maharajasa Rajadirajasa sarvaloga
Imastasa Mahimastasa hapinasasa -
Monog., 166. Capt. Robinson.
60 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
2.— Gold.
Obv. — King, seated on an Eastern throne, with a flower in
his right hand. Legend and monog. as above.
Rev. — Device as No. 1. Monog., ditto. A. A., x. 5, and
xxi. 17.
I do not propose to enter into any detail of the coins of
Kadphises in this place, as they scarcely belong to the
Bactrian series. It will be sufficient to remark, that the types
usually consist of a figure of the king in his Scythic cos-
tume, with a reverse device symbolising the Hindu divinity
Siva. These coins are known only in gold and copper, the
single supposed silver specimen in the E. I. H.14 having
proved to be of copper plated over !
XXXIII. GONDOPHARES.
1. — O Copper.
Obv. — Azas' horseman, to the right. BACIAEOUC BA-
CIAECON FoNAofcAPoY. Monog., No. 164.
Bev. — Figure, with trident. Legend, Maharaja Rajarajasa
Mahatasa Gadaphratosa.
B. M. coin. Monog., No. 1 62. A. A. (billon coin), v. 16.
Pl.xliii. 15.
2. — O Copper.
Obv. — As above. (YNAofc - -) Monog., No. 164.
Rev. — Minerva, armed, to the right. Monog., No. 127
with 174. A.A.,v. 17.
3. — o Copper.
Obv. — As above, with the addition of MEFAAoY in the
legend.
Rev. — Male figure, with spear, to the right.
Monog., No. 127 with 176, also T and Phre. A. A., v. 18.
i* A. A., xi.9.
BACTRIAN COINS. 61
4. — D Copper.
Obv. — King, on horseback; to his front is seen Victory,
presenting a chaplet. Legend, BAClAEo — - -
$APoY (?)
Rev. — Centre device, the monogram figured under No. 1 64.
Legend, Mdhd - -Dhaga - - sa Apratihatasa Ja - -
sa Gudapharasa.
Monogs., Arian letters Bu and San. A. A., xxi. 16.
Mr. Bayley.
D.—
Obv. — Head of king, to the left ; the contour similar to the
Pakore's busts. Legends imperfect. B. B., etc.
Rev. — Victory, with chaplet. Mdhdrajasa Rajadirajasa
dhatasa Gudaphara ----- Monog., Gu, and an
indistinct Arian letter. Mr. Bayley.
6. — O Copper.
Obv. — Head of king, to the right, greatly barbarised.
Rev. — Victory, as in No. 5. Legend, Mdhdrajasa Goda-
pha(J)sa Tradatasa. PI. xviii. 5 — 8.
7. — O Copper. Small barbaric coin.
Obv. — Rude filleted head, to the right. Abbreviated
Greek legend, BACI BAC - - Y
Rev. — Rude figure of Thessalian Minerva, to the right.
Legend, Rajadirajasa Mahatasa Godapharasa.
Monog., Arian Stri and Hd or Ho.
XXXIV. ABDALGASES.
]. — G Copper.
Obv. — Azas' horseman, to the right, with flat cap and flowing
fillet; hand upraised. Legend, corrupt, BASIAEY-
oNToI BASIAEOCNY ABAAFASoY. Monog., 164.
Rev. — Erect figure, to the right ; head-dress as on the ob-
verse, with spear, hand extended. Legend, Godo-
phara Bhrada Putrasa Mdharajasa Abdagasasa.
Capt. Robinson, 1 63, with Arian monog. (Sakre or Saphre).
2. — O Copper. Similar types, with the addition of the title of
Tradatasa before the name on the reverse.
62 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
3. — O Copper.
Obv. — Horseman, to the left.
Rev. — Figure, as in No. 1, without the cap.
Major Cunningham.
a). — Small coin. Mr. Bayley.
4. — O Copper.
Obv. — As No. 1. Monog., No. 146, with T.
Rev. — Erect figure, holding a small statue of Victory, to the
left. Monog., No. 127 with 165. Mr. Bayley.
SUB-ABDAOASES-SASAN.
1. — O Copper.
Obv. — Horseman, as in No. 1. Legend imperfect. Monog.,
No. 164, with P. My Cabinet, 164, and B.
Rev. — Figure as above, No. 1. Legend, Maharajasa
Mahatasa Tradatasa - - - - 15 Godaphrasa Sasasa.
Monog., No. 166 with T, and small letters, P, Sh, etc., in
the field. Mr. Bayley, P, Pi, etc. A. A., v, 20.
2. — O Copper.
Obv. — Azas horseman.
Rev. — Jupiter, holding a figure of Victory, to the left. Le-
gend, Maharajasa Rajadhirajasa Saccha Dha(ma-
pidasa) Sasasa. [Cunningham]. Monog., No. 127
with 165. A.A., v. 19.
XXXV. ARSACES.
I extract the following notice of the coins of Arsaces
from Major Cunningham's paper in the Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xi. p. 135, 1842.
" 1. — O Copper.
Obv.— A horseman, to the right. BACIAGVONTOS BA-
ClAeCON AIKAIoY APCAKoY.
Rev. — Type obliterated. Maharajasa rajarajasa mahatasa
Ashshdkasa tddatasa.
15 Major Cunningham renders this doubtful word as Deva-
hadasa, God-hearted, QeorpoiroQ. J.A.S.B., vii. of 1854, p. 713.
BACTRIAN COINS. 63
2.— O Copper.
Rev. — A horseman, to the right. Legend, imperfect, BA-
SI - - OY APSAKoY.
Rev. — Male figure, to the left, holding out a small figure in
his right hand. Maharajarajasa - - - A(shshakasa)."
XXXVI. PAKORES.
1. — O Copper.
Obv. — Bearded head, to the left; the hair is elaborately
curled and arranged after the Persian fashion. BA-
CIAGYC BAClXewv ILAKoPHC.
Rev. — Victory with chaplet, to the right. Maharajasa
Rajadhirajasa Mahatasa Pakurasa.
B. M. coins have monograms, composed of Bactrian letters,
go, ro, to, associated with the character $ on the opposite side
of the reverse -field,
XXXVIII. ORTHAGNES.
1. — O Copper.
Obv. — Head of king, to the left ; the hair is arranged after
the Persian fashion on the Pakores' device. Legend
corrupt. BACIAEYC BACIAEQON MEFAC oP-
GArNHC.
Rev. — Victory, to the right, holding out a fillet. Legend,
imperfect, (Maharajasa ?) Mahatasa Gudupharasa
- - - - B. M. Bactrian monogs., gu and go.
64 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
VI.
ON SOME UNPUBLISHED TYPES OF ANCIENT
BRITISH COINS.
[Read before the Numismatic Society, March 19th, 1857.]
IT is now some years since the attention of this society has
been called to the uninscribed series of ancient British
coins, which has, however, like the inscribed series, been
receiving constant accessions of new types and varieties,
by the discovery of fresh specimens in various parts of the
country. Though, of course, in interest falling far short of
the coins bearing inscriptions which identify them as having
been struck by some prince or city known in history, or
even of those which merely afford some vague clue to what
may possibly give grounds for an attempt at their appro-
priation ; yet these anepigraphous coins, especially where
the places of their provenance are known, are by no means
unworthy of notice, and even of attentive consideration.
They not only assist us in determining the districts in
which some of the inscribed types were struck, but also,
being links in the same chain of successive imitations of
imitations, by their greater or less resemblance to their
prototype, afford means of arriving at an approximate esti-
mate of the era to which to assign them. The common
prototype to which nearly all the ancient British unin-
scribed coins, and the majority of the inscribed, may be
referred, is,1 as I have already shewn, the Gaulish imitation
of the Macedonian Philippus ; the successive imitations of
Num. Chron., Vol. XII., p. 127.
JEVAMSfSA.
COVffiUiS ASASIACtC EJ5ESS
/ANCIENT BRITISH COINS.
66 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The second coin was also found in Norfolk, and is like-
wise of gold. The blank not having been placed in the
centre of the dies, the devices are to one side of the coin,
both on the obverse and reverse The device on the obverse
appears to be a voided cross, formed by arched lines with
rows of pellets between them ; and in the centre, a circle
enclosing a ring ornament so as somewhat to resemble a
rose. It has a great analogy with the type of Num. Jour,
vol.i. p. 222, pi. 1, 5, Ruding, pi. A, 78, which I should also
consider to be attributable to the Iceni. On the reverse is
a horse galloping to the right, his tail branched, from the
root of which proceeds a crescent-shaped figure, divided
into compartments, and turning over his head. In the field,
ring ornaments and pellets. The weight is 86£ grains, and
the coin is in my own collection.
From the place of finding, and the general character of
these two coins, they may, I think, be safely attributed to
the Iceni. The peculiar branching of the tail is observable
upon the coins of Addedomaros, and also upon some of the
silver coins of the Iceni. See the two engraved in Num.
Chron., Vol. II. p. 72, Nos. 7 and 8, found at March, Cam-
bridgeshire. The prominent place that the two crescents
back to back assume on these coins, is also one of their
remarkable features. I have already shewn how they may
be traced back, and proved to be merely corruptions of the
original type of the head of Apollo, in the Num. Chron.,
Vol. XII. p. 127, so that I need not now further remark on
the pedigree of these types.
The third coin in the Plate is also of gold, weighing 81 1
grains. The obverse is plain and convex ; and on the
reverse is a rude disjointed horse to the left, with a star
below, and a star of pellets in front. Though its place of
finding is not known, it may, from the resemblance of the
ANCIENT BRITISH COINS. 67
horse upon it to that on the coins reading DVMNO
COVEROS, VEP CORF, etc., and on uninscribed coins
found in Yorkshire, be safely attributed to the Brigantes.
It is in my own collection, as is also the fourth coin, the
type of which, though not given by Ruding or Hawkins,
will be fonnd in Stukeley, PL xix. No. 3, engraved from a
coin in the collection of Joseph Tolson Lockyer, F.S. A.
On the obverse is a cross formed by wreaths, with two
crescents in the centre, and in the angles appear locks of
hair, the crescents representing the front hair, and the
clothing of the neck, of the wide-spread bust that is found
on the earlier British coins : so that this type is a most im-
portant link between those with merely the cruciform orna-
ment, and those on which an attempt at a laureated bust is
plainly discernible. On the reverse, is a moderately well-
shaped horse to the right ; in front, a representation of the
sun ; below, a wheel ; and above a curved figure between
pellets, similar to that1 on some of the coins of theWhaddon
Chase find (to which this type bears some general resem-
blance), being probably the debased representative of the
Victory leaning over the biga on the prototype. The
weight of this specimen is 85.^ grains, and it was found last
year at Manuden, near Bishop's Stortford. I have another
specimen of the same type, weighing 82r, grains, and found
at Farthinghoe, Oxon ; and I have also seen a similar coin
found at Hallaton, Leicestershire; so that the district
through which this type was current must have been exten-
sive, though the coins are by no means common. There is
a close relationship between them and those found a few
years since at Wonersh,2 near Guildford.
1 Num. Chron., Vol. XII. PI. 1,4, 5, 6, 7.
2 Smith's Coll. Ant., Vol. I., PI. Ivi., 3, 4.
68 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
There is also considerable analogy between this coin and
that engraved as No. 5 on the Plate, which is, however, of
smaller module, weighing only 18^ grains, and has not
the crescents in the centre of the obverse, nor so decidedly
a cruciform appearance. The horse on the reverse is also
rather different in character, and has a star of pellets above,
and a wheel below. It is in the Museum Collection, but
the place where it was found is not known.
Unlike the preceding coins, No. 6 is in silver, but has on
the obverse the cruciform ornament, with two crescents in
the centre, somewhat similar to that of the first type of the
Weston coins (Num. Chron., Vol. XV. p. 98). On the re-
verse is an animal, which can hardly be termed a horse,
nor indeed any other known animal, looking backwards,
with his tail erected ; in the field, various annulets and
pellets. The weight of this coin, which is in the Museum
Collection, is 14^ grains, and it was found in Suffolk.
From this circumstance, and its general appearance, it may
be classed among the coins of the Iceni ; to which classifi-
cation the next coin, No. 7, may, I think, also lay claim.
On the obverse is a well-formed horse to the left, with
ring ornaments and a star of pellets on the field ; and as a
memento of the origin of the type, notwithstanding the
presence of the horse on the obverse, instead of, as usual,
on the reverse, we find above it a crescent and wreath, in
fact, one quarter of the cruciform ornament so common on
these coins. On the reverse is a strange animal, not sus-
ceptible of any zoological description, but which, for want
of a better name, may be called an ornithocephalous horse,
with long ears, and apparently pecking at a snake. In the
field are ring ornaments and a wheel of pellets. The coin
is of silver and of remarkably little weight, being only
grains. It is in the Museum Collection.
ANCIENT BRITISH COINS. 69
The next coin, No. 8, is of gold, weighing 17£ grains,
and in the same collection. Mr. Huxtable also possesses a
similar specimen. On the obverse is a cruciform orna-
ment with a pellet in the centre, each limb of the cross
being curved, and two of them being made to represent
the heads of eagles, with a mane or crest running down
behind their necks ; the other two limbs terminate in ring
ornaments, but have a sort of fringe extending from them.
On the reverse is a horse to the left ; above, a star ; and
below, a rose of pellets ; in front of the horse, an annulet,
which is connected to the horse's neck. From the type of
the reverse, which bears a very close resemblance to coins
found at Bognor, Bracklesham, and Chichester, and other
parts of the Kent and Sussex coast, I am inclined to attri-
bute these coins to the south-eastern part of England,
though their place of finding is not known.
No. 9 was found at Bracklesham, and is engraved in
Dixon's Geology of Sussex, p. 80, No. 3, having been in
that author's collection, though now in the British Museum.
It is of red gold, weighing 15 grains. In the centre of the
obverse there is a ring ornament, in lieu of the usual
crescents, surrounded by pellets, on either side of which the
wreath appears crossed by two corded lines. In two of
the spaces formed by the cross are the figures representing
the locks of back hair ; and in the other two, the crescents
representing the front hair of the wide-spread bust of the
prototype. On the reverse is a horse to the left, with an
annulet in front connected to the neck and ring ornaments,
and a star in the field. It is a very remarkable little coin,
the type of the obverse being especially worthy of notice.
The three remaining coins on the Plate, Nos. 10, 11, and
12, are also singular in their types, and were all three
found in Bedfordshire, and are now in my own collection.
70 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
No. 10 is of gold, weighing 20$ grains, and very similar to
the coin inscribed EPPI, engraved in Num. Chron., Vol.
XVI. p. 80, No. 4. On the obverse is a cruciform orna-
ment, with crescents in the centre, and horse-shoe shaped
figures in the angles. On the reverse is a rather peculiar
horse with an uncertain adjunct beneath. There is a great
resemblance between this horse and that on the reverse of
the subsequent coin, No. 11, which is, however, of copper,
weighing 25| grains. On its obverse is a rudely-formed
head to the left, the hair being represented by corded lines,
and in general character very similar to that on some of the
coins of Tasciovanus. There is a star in the field in front
of the face.
The head upon the obverse of the 12th coin, which is
also of copper, and weighing 36| grains, is almost Peru-
vian in its character, the hair turned back from off the
face, and with a wheel or star in the place of the ear. The
reverse is no less remarkable, the device being apparently
an eagle devouring a snake, somewhat like that on the
small silver coins of Epillus with the legend " Rex Calle,"
and on those reading " Epati." The origin of the types of
both obverse and reverse is to me altogether obscure, and I
have never met with any other coin at all analogous to it.
In fact, all three coins belong to a district with the coins of
which we are but little acquainted.
In conclusion, I may remark, that I have great pleasure
in presenting the Plate of the twelve coins to the Numis-
matic Chronicle.
JOHN EVANS.
71
VII.
NOTICE OF A MAMLUK COIN, STRUCK BY COM-
MAND OF THE SULTAN MELIK DHAHER ROKN-
ED-DIN BIBARS BONDOKDARI.
[Read before the Numismatic Society, February 19th, 1857.]
BY DR. L. LOEWE, F.R.A.S., M.S.A.P., &c., &c.
AT one of our meetings I promised, on the invitation of
our President, to read a few observations respecting a
Mamliik coin, which I then had the honor of exhibiting.
I will now, with your permission, fulfil my promise.
The history of the Mamliik sultans is so well described
by the Arabic author, Taki-ed-din Ahmed Makrizi, and so
beautifully translated by Quatremere, that it required little
research on my part to enable me to give a short account.
of the life and works of the sultan, by whose command the
coin in question was struck.
Mamluk, is a word derived from the Arabic
Mulk, signifying possession, or property, and refers
to the Turkish and Circassian slaves who formed the body
72 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
guard of the successors of Salahdin ; and who, having
been raised to some of the principal offices in the kingdom,
became, at last, masters of Egypt themselves.
Melik Moezz Izz-ed-din Aibek was the first Mamluk
sultan, Melik-Mansilr Niir ed-din Ali was the second, and
Melik Modhaffer Kutiiz the third. These three Mamluks
reigned from the year 1250 to 1 260 of the Christian era,
when Melik Dhaher Rokn ed-din Bibars Bondokdari began
to reign and continued to remain in power till the year 1277.
Bibars, a native of Turkey, was bought by Melik Saleh
Nejm ed-din Ayiib; he distinguished himself in the service
of his master, and, by degrees, became elevated in rank.
After the death of Melik Saleh he entered into the service of
Melik Moadham, and remained with him until the time when
the life of the latter ended by having his throat cut. Bibars
continued to rise in estimation on account of his prodigious
valor; and, after the death of Fares-ed-din Akta'i, he left
Kahireh for Syria. A little while after, he returned to Egypt
and accompanied Kutiiz in his expedition against the
Tartars. On that occasion he asked Kutuz to appoint
him governor of Aleppo. This the Sultan refused. Fearing to
have a man like Bibars as an enemy, he resolved to deprive
him of his life. Bibars, however, received information of
that project in good time, and he, one day, when the Sultan
returned from a hunting party, entered the Royal tent
to ask for the possession of one of the female prisoners of
war; the Sultan immediately granted his request, and
Bibars, under the pretence of kissing his hands as a mark
of gratitude, took hold of the Sultan's arm, which was a
preconcerted signal with the other emirs to commence an
attack. One emir struck him with the sword on the neck, a
second pulled him down from the horse on which he still sat,
and a third sent an arrow into his heart.
MAMLUK COIN. 73
After the assassination of the sultan, all the emirs who
took part in the plot entered the Royal tent, when the emir
Akta'i-Mostareb rose and asked, " Which among you has
taken the life of Kutiiz ?" and Bibars, in the most com-
posed manner, declared that he himself had perpetrated
the act. Upon this Aktai-Mostareb said, " Sit down in his
place — sit on the throne destined for the Sultan."
Bibiirs, the new sultan, took first the title of j&\id\ CJ&U
Elmelik Elkdhir, " the conquering king"; but the vfizir Zein
ed-din Jakiib ben Zohair advised him to change that title,
as no one observed the vazir, who bore it ever succeeded
in his career. Bibars, therefore, adopted instead the title
of Melik Dhaher,y^ cJJj.1. This word has a double
signification : first, " the glorious," and, secondly, an allu-
sion to an individual who follows the practical devotions of
religion, as prescribed by the simple words of the koran.
The inhabitants of Kahireh, as well as all Mamluks in the
different Egyptian provinces, gladly submitted to the sceptre
of Bibiirs, with the exception only of the emir SanjarHalebi,
the governor of Damascus. He persuaded the emirs to
acknowledge his own supreme authority ; and, on the 6th
day of the month Dhoo'l Hidge, the prayer in the mosque
was offered up for the life and prosperity of Melik Dhaher
as well as for that of Melik Miijahid, the latter being
the title which Sanjar Halebi then adopted. He went
even so far as to have money struck, bearing inscriptions
which united the name of Melik Dhuher with that of Melik
Mudjahi'd.
In the same year, however, a revolution broke out at
Aleppo, the governor was deposed, and the emir ^.^ * l«*o-
kj^jd\j\j> (j^j^-J^ Husam ed-din El-jukan dar EI-azizi
was appointed in his stead. He was favorably inclined to
Bibars ; and after various battles had been fought with
VOL. XIX. L
74 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
marked success by the forces of the sultan, the revolution
was quelled. The army of the sultan then directed their
course, under the command of the emir Jemal ed-din
Muhammad, towards Damascus, there deposed Melik
Mujdhid, and proclaimed Bibdrs as Sultan.
Bibars suppressed the various revolutions in Syria, and
made himself feared by the Mongols, the Greeks, and the
Armenians.
To give more dignity to his elevated position, he caused
Ahmed (Mostanser Billah), a prince of the Abbasside
family, to confer upon him the title of Sultan, whilst he left
the title of Khalifa to Ahmed. This important act took
place in. the year 3264, a year particularly distinguished in
consequence of the brilliant comet which appeared in the
constellation of Orion.
In the diploma which the Khalifa gave to the sultan, the
following passages occur, which show what spirit of hatred
pervaded the heart of the enemy with whom the Crusaders,
at that time, had to fight: —
" One of the most important points which must be treated
here," says the Khalifa, " is the war against the infidels ;
this is a most indispensable duty incumbent upon all the
Muslemin — this is an act, the remembrance of which will
be recorded in history. God has promised a magnificent
reward to all those who fight in the cause of religion, and
has reserved for them a most eminent place in paradise.
"Already you have distinguished yourself by brilliant
acts, which caused the envious to turn pale for shame. You
have shown a power of resolution more penetrating than
the sword, more agreeable to the Muslemin than the most
entertaining feasts. It is by your valor that God protected
the ramparts of Islam, and secured them from being pro-
faned by the enemy. Your courage has preserved for the
Muslemin the integrity of their empire. Your sword has
MAMLUK COIN. 75
inflicted incurable wounds in the hearts of the infidels, and
it is by you that the throne of the Khalifas, will, we hope,
regain its former splendour."
To evince his gratitude to the Khalifa, and to make his
devotion to the representative of the Prophet known to the
Muslemin, he caused the inscription on the coins henceforth
to be struck to contain the following words : —
*xu
Bibars, the intimate friend of the Commander of the faithful,
the Imam who governs by the command of God, Ahmed
the Abbaside.
In his wars with the Crusaders, he encountered several
disasters, but he nevertheless took from them many im-
portant cities; and a letter which I shall now have the
honor of reading to you, addressed to Bohemond, the son
of Robert Guiscard, after his taking of Antioch in the year
1267, will give you an example of the fierce manner in
which he treated his enemies .
" To the illustrious, venerable and honourable Count, the
warrior, the belligerent lion, the glory of the Christian
nation, the chief of the Crusaders, and the greatest
among the adorers of Jesus. To him, whose title of
Prince, by the fall of Antioch became changed for that
of Count. May God lead him into the right path,
crown his enterprises with a happy result, and cause
good counsel to find easy access to him at all times.
" The Count, I say, is well aware of our having marched
against Tarabliis and of our having carried war into the
very heart of his estates. He has seen, since our departure,
his ships destroyed, his men killed, and the churches
swept from the face of the earth. The Count has also seen
every house given up to all kinds of outrage; the dead
76 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
bodies heaped up on the sea-shore like islands ; the men
slaughtered, and their children made prisoners ; the women
sent into slavery ; and all the trees cut down except those
required for the construction of implements of war and
palisades. We have taken all that belonged to you and
your subjects, money, women, children, and flocks ; the poor
amongst us have become rich, the bachelor has received a
wife, the servant is a keeper of slaves, and he who before
walked on foot now rides on horseback.
"And you, you did contemplate the sight of a man given
up to the agonies of death, and on hearing a voice, you
surely, in the most terrified manner, must have said unto
yourself, ' Oh that voice is directed against me !' You have
been well aware of our having only left you for the purpose
of again coming back to you, and our object in granting
you some respite has only been to wait for the time pre-
viously fixed upon by us.
"When we left your estates, there was not a single beast
without its following our troops, not a girl without being in
our power, not a column without having fallen under the
blows of our pickaxes, not a field without its crops being
gathered by us; in short there was no single object of
your property which fell not into our hands. You could
not find refuge either in the caverns of the highest rock, or
in the deepest valley, which penetrates even into the midst
of the frontiers and surpasses all imagination.
"You were also aware, how, after leaving you, we ap-
peared in front of Antioch, the capital, without any sign
being previously given of our approach ; you knew that we
intended going away from you only for a short time, with
the intention of coming back soon afterwards. Well, we
send you now the accomplished facts, and we are going to
inform you of all the calamities which befell the land.
MAMLUK COIN. 77
" We left Tarablus on Wednesday, the 24th day of Sha-
ban, and encamped behind the wall of Antioch on the first
day of the month of Ramadan. The moment after our
arrival, your troops came out of the town to attack us, but
we conquered them. They mutually supported themselves,
but could not obtain any advantage thereby. The lord
high constable, who was among the prisoners we had taken,
asked for permission to have a conference with your sub-
jects, and I agreed to it. He entered into the town, and
soon returned, accompanied by a number of monks and
principal personages among your attendants. They wanted
to treat with us, but we soon found out that their designs
were similar to yours, which are to kill the people; for
when the matter under discussion was the doing of any
good, their plans were opposed ; on the contrary, when it
was the doing of evil, they were all of one opinion. Seeing
that their fate was decided without remedy, and that God
had decreed their death, we dismissed them, saying, ' We
are now going to besiege you immediately ; this is the first
and last information we can give you/ They left us, acting
in a manner as you would do, fully impressed with the idea
that you would come with your infantry and cavalry to help
them. However, during the interval of less than an hour, the
field-marshal, the superior of the monks, the keeper of the
castle, all were surrounded by death. We made the assault,
sword in hand, on Saturday at four o'clock, the fourth day
of the month of Ramadan, and destroyed all those whom
you had selected to guard and defend the town. Among
the people we found there, every one had at least something
in his possession, but now there is not one among us who
has not either one of the people themselves, or something
that belonged to them, in his possession. Oh if you had
seen the riders, how they were thrown under the feet of their
78 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
horses ! your houses invaded by the plunderers, and freely
over run by those who were searching after spoil ! If you
had seen your wealth weighed by the kintar; and your
jewels, how they were sold or bought with your own trea-
sures, at the price of four for one dinar ; if you had seen
your churches demolished, your crosses cut to pieces, and
the books of your false evangelists exposed; if you had
seen your enemy, the Muslim, ravaging the sanctuary; the
monk, the priest, and the deacon, all slaughtered on the
altar ; the nobles given up to misfortune, and the princes of
the royal family reduced to slavery ; if you could only have
contemplated the sight of flames penetrating into your
palaces ; the dead given up to the flames of this world pre-
vious to their being given up to the fire which awaits
them in the other ; — your palaces, with all the furniture
therein, destroyed ; the churches of St. Paul and Assian
tottering, and at last ceasing to exist ; if you could have
seen all this, you surely would have said, ' I wish to God I
had been transformed into clay !' or, ' I wish I had never
received the letter which gives me the account of this fear-
ful catastrophe.1
by
MAMLUK COIN. 79
" This mournful state of things will cause your soul to
expire ; and these flames will become extinguished by the
water of your tears. Oh ! if you were to see your habita-
tions empty of all that belonged to them ; all your chariots
taken ; all your vessels lying in the port of Suwadiah and
your boats fallen into the power of your enemy ; you,
surely, would feel convinced, that God who has first given
Antioch to you, has now again taken it from you ; — that
the Lord who has given the citadel into your possession,
has now again deprived you of it, and made it altogether
disappear from the face of the earth. You will now
understand, that we have, thank God, taken again posses-
sion of the Islam fortresses which you had seized, viz.
Shakif-Talmis, Shakif-Kafr-denin, and all other places in
the district of Antioch. We have forced the soldiers to
leave the castle ; we have taken them by the hair, and dis-
persed them far and nigh. Nothing remained to which
the word 'resistance' could be applied, unless it were 'the
river'; and even that, if it could, would cease to bear the
name of Asi, , «*W ' the rebel.' That river now sheds
1 s— '
tears of regret. Formerly its tears consisted of clear
water, but now they are of blood, which we have poured
into it.
" This letter contains good tidings for you, inasmuch as
it informs you, that it pleased God to watch over your life
and to prolong your days, as it so happened that you have
not been yourself at Antioch during that time. If you had
been there, surely, you would now have been either killed
or made prisoner, wounded or mutilated.
* A living man contemplating the sight of a field covered
with dead bodies, must feel some pleasure in knowing that
he is himself in safety ; perhaps God granted the prolonga-
tion of your days that you may thereby have time allowed to
80 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
make good all you have hitherto neglected to do, with regard
to obedience and service due to him.
u As none escaped who could inform you of this event, we
have taken it upon ourselves to do so. It not being in the
power of any one to let you know that your life is in safety,
and that all the others died, we have given you all the
information in this our despatch, that you might know
things exactly as they are. After receiving such a letter,
you ought not to accuse us any more of falsehood, nor
need you to ask any one for further information."
Bohemond, on receiving this letter, was very much
irritated, this being indeed the first news he received of the
fall of Antioch.
We must hope, and happily we have reason to believe,
that the Miihammedan princes of the present century have-
given up that spirit of revenge, and that any royal diploma
given to the sovereign of any of their countries will not
any longer recommend the entire annihilation of the Franks ;
or, at all events, that the representatives of European
powers will always take care, that the Muhammedans
shall not act in strict accordance with injunctions similar
to those of the Khalifa Abu'l-Kasem Ahmed.
This letter, showing how the Muhammedans at that
time felt with regard to Europeans, it may perhaps not
be uninteresting to the members of this society to hear a
few words of advice given by Admiral Sir Sydney Smith,
in a letter which I had the honour of receiving twenty years
ago. The original is in the following words : —
" Your note of this morning finds me at my writing table
working for you, and surrounded by Arabic manuscripts,
which I wished to put under your eye for your information
and guidance in your projected tour. Your excuses for
not coming to my distant residence I must necessarily
MAMLUK COIN. 81
admit, knowing your multifarious and important occupa-
tions ; but I cannot the less feel the disappointment at not
having the opportunity of making some useful communica-
tions to you, such as : —
" An authentic copy of the capitulation granted by the
Caliph Omar on his entry into Jerusalem, A.H. 15, to the
Patriarch Zephirinus (Sophronius), giving and securing to
the Christian subjects privileges still in existence when
claimed by those who have the right and have the sense to
appeal to the original (one of four) in the archives of the
law officers at Constantinople, a copy of which I sent to
the persons interested therein, living under the authority of
the Pasha of Jerusalem, in order that they might exhibit to
the latter, and remind him, in my name, that the Christian
powers had an eye upon him, and would not fail to comply
with each other's request, to make a joint effort for their
protection in case of its arbitrary violation.
"2ndly. The correspondence of the ecclesiastical authori-
ties of the four Christian right guardians of the Holy
Sepulchre.
" Srdly. The correspondence of the present ministers of
Sultan Mahmud with me on their own affairs as dependent
on me, knowing that my eye is keen as a hawk's, and my
claws long when I am obliged to put them out, always
against my will, and never but when forced by imperative
circumstances, such as violation of principles and treaties,
oppression of the defenceless, and their evident need of the
succour my influence or action may be supposed to be
equal to affording them."
Bibdrs then proceeded to the Holy Land, made himself
master of Zafed, the castle of Karak, of Tiberias, and
various other places. He ravaged Little Armenia and
made the king's son prisoner, took possession of Derbesak,
Derkush, Belmish, Kafrdenin, Raban and Merzeban. He
VOL. XIX. M
82 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
also penetrated into Nubia, upset the throne of David, and
substituted Meshker, who engaged to give up to Bibdrs
half of his annual revenues.
In the year 1268, Bibars went into the Hejaz, where he
received the homage of all the Emirs ; he entered Mecca
and Medina, where he most creditably acquitted himself of
his duties as a pious Muslim ; and opened on that occasion
friendly relations with the king of Yemen, who offered him
many valuable and handsome presents.
Makrizi gives a description of the various contempo-
raries of Bibdrs, among whom we find St. Louis, or
Louis IX., who, with the intention of converting the Bey
of Tunis, proceeded to his capital, and there died, at the
age of fifty-five, in the year 1270.
With regard to Edward, who, after the death of St. Louis,
went to the Holy Land, and distinguished himself by his
valiant exploits, Makrizi gives the following account.
" Bibars," he says, " having been informed of the arrival
of the King of England, that he landed at Acre with 300
horse, eight large ships, and many other vessels, forming
in all thirty sail, and that it was his intention to go on a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he encamped at Tripolis, and
there, after divers occurrences, the Franks sued for peace,
and obtained a truce of ten years' duration."
Makrizi, however, adds, that Bibdrs sent two of his
officers with 3000 Egyptian dinars to redeem the prisoners.
Bibdrs was a most active prince; he examined personally
all that was going on in his estates ; he was sure to inspect
his fortresses, and, on many occasions, he himself assisted
to demolish the walls and strongholds of his enemies. His
activity induced the poet of his age to say of him, " One
day in Egypt, one day in the Hejaz, one day in Syria,
and one day in Aleppo."
In the year 1268, when his army supposed him dan-
\
MAMLUK COIN. 83
gerously ill in his tent near Orsiif, he secretly left the place,
went to Egypt, there regulated all the affairs of the state, and,
after a short time, re-appeared to his soldiers who were
under the impression that he had never quitted his tent.
In the year 1277, however, the moment arrived when his
glory was to become extinguished, and his life was to end, by
a fate similar to that which he had prepared for his prede-
cessor Kutiiz. The astrologers told him, that some great
man would die that year; and Bibars, with the intention of
removing the evil fate from himself, prepared a poison for
Malik Kaher, a prince of the house of Salahdin ; but the cup
which contained the poison was forgotten to be removed, and
Bibars, taking it himself, drank its fatal contents and expired
in the greatest sufferings, after a reign of seventeen years.
Bibars bore the title of ^jJ^\^-)\ Abu' I futukh, "the
father of victory," and ordered the figure of a lion, called
in Arabic fU^dJI *X-s}H Eldssad Eddharghdm, " the ferocious
lion," to be struck on the money issued during his reign, as
an emblem of the wars he made against his enemies, and
the victories he achieved over them. Marsden considers the
lion as an imitation of the style adopted by the Seljuk princes.
He also selected the title of ^.^^j Rokn ed-din, " The
pillar or support of religion," in reference to the black
corner-stone of the Caaba, which is called ^^^\ ^J>j Rokn
el-beit, and to signify thereby his most fervent attachment
to the Islam.
On the coin which I again have the honour to exhibit,
the ^Icy-^tX-^ and the title of ^.^^j were inscribed, but
not the title of j&>^\ ^\\\ which he was advised to adopt
by his Vazir, Zein-ed-din Jakub ben Zohair : he is still
called by his original title j&W C)1U Elmelik Elkdhir
K The conquering king." It follows therefore that the coin
in question must have been one of the first issued from the
mint of Bibars.
84 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
In conclusion, we must not omit to state some of his bene-
volent traits. He distributed annually one hundred thousand
measures of corn, and provided munificently for the widows
and orphans of the soldiers who died on the field of battle.
He founded the college of Dhaherieh at Kahireh, built a
caravanserai in the Holy City of Jerusalem, made magni-
ficent bridges across the Nile, and constructed the canals
of Alexandria and Tanah.
His two sons, Melik Sa'id Nasr-ed-din Muhammad Bere-
keh-Khan and Melik Adi Bedr-ed-din Selamesh, only occu-
pied the throne for the period of two years. The former,
having irritated the emirs by his tyrannical caprices, was
deposed ; and his brother, who was then proclaimed sultan,
met with a similar fate after a reign of one hundred days.
These revolutions having been planned by Kelaiin, the
Attibek of the army, he took the crown for himself, in the
year 1279.
A coin of Bibars with the inscription of^Wlil being very
scarce, this specimen from my cabinet deserves the atten-
tion of the numismatist. The alloy of the Dirhems of
Dhaher consisted of seventy per cent, of fine silver, and
thirty per cent, of copper.
Silver. 54 grains.
Obv.— ^lili cJiSj ^\j lj^\ . . . eXiU
'' The King, the pillar of the world and of religion, the
conquering King."
The word ^fj is effaced. Below the inscription is the
lion called ^l^-a^ <^>^\
Rev.— l> aL-1 &\ o .XKC . . -\\
" There is no God but God — Muhammad, the messenger
of God — He sent him with guidance."
The rest of the usual legend, ^^\ ^c- *j$laJ
gj£/&^ *T J!$-T» " a°d true faith, that he might exalt the
religion above all, though the infidels be averse thereto," is
omitted.
85
VITI.
STRAY LEAVES FROM THE JOURNAL OF A
TRAVELLER IN SEARCH OF
ANCIENT COINS.
BY J. Gr. PFISTKR.
"La numismatique est une Maitresse dangereuse pour 1'amateur,
et toujours adoree, bien que cruelle, pour ses fervents disciples." l
DURING the eventful winter of 1847 — 48, whilst at Naples,
I obtained permission to revisit the famous Museum of
Antiquities of the Marquis of S ant- Angel o, and to inspect,
as on a form6r%ccasion, the magnificent collection of coins
and medals. There had also been of late commenced, the
formation of a cabinet of mediaeval coins, generally, how-
ever, referring only to the Neapolitan states. In a drawer
of sundry yet unclassified mediaeval and modern coins, I
observed one, which, at the first glance, appeared to me to
be an inedited testoon, struck by one of the family, De'
Fieschi, Counts of Lavagna [Lavania]. I was entirely
misled by the extraordinary resemblance in the design of
its type to similar coins of that family, as well as by the
inscription, which I read SEE. (astianus) EPS. (Episcopus) ET.
PR. (inceps) LAV. (anice.)
1 SKann mtt jugefnopften
$fyut bir 9liemanb ira§ ju IteB?
<§anb imrb tuir »on ^anb gercafcfyen,
2Benn bit netmen nntt jl, fo gift !
VOL. XIX. N
86 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
And as there was no series of this sort of coins, I felt
that I might venture to propose an exchange for a Cinque-
cento Neapolitan medallion. I easily obtained my request
from my guide, the obliging and erudite numismatist, il
Cavaliere Don Michele di Sant Angelo.
The coin was laid by with other acquisitions, and not
thought of, until the spring, when I came to the gay and
beautifully situated small fishing town of Sestri di Levante,
0ttem«l8 anfcrt bort bte <Sorgo
01iemal8 lanbet bort eiu 25ampffd)iff
SJiHt neugiertgen ^Ijiliftern,
in ben SDtduIetn.
It is the Segesta of Pliny, who attributes it to the Tiguli,
and calls it " Segesta Tigulliorum." It belonged during the
middle ages to the Fieschi family, and is situated not far
from the town of Lavagna itself. During the evening,
whilst I was in the garden of the hotel, listening to a song
in praise of
"il bel paese
Che Appenin parte e'l mar circon da e 1'Alpe"
I approached the singer, who was a relation of the landlord,
and agreeing with him in praise of his country, I begged
of him information as to the neighbouring town of
Lavagna — whether there were yet to be seen some anti-
quities, some remains of the feudal Castle of the Fieschi, etc.
He was sorry not to be able to inform me, but, pointing to
a fine carriage just passing by, along the high road towards
Genoa, said that the personage in that carriage could give
me the best, information. And who should it be, but Car-
dinal Fiesco himself; who was, he said, particularly liked
8 A pipe is a great soother! — a pleasant comforter! — Blue
devils fly before its honest breath! It ripens the brain — it opens
the heart; and the man who smokes, thinks like a sage, and acts
like a Samaritan! — -Night and Morning.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 87
in the country around., for his affability and amiable manners,
as he was accustomed to receive, at a minute's notice, the
poor as well as the rich. Relying upon such welcome
information, I took rny seat early the next morning in a
Baroccio,3 by the side of my Ligurian Mentor; and the
cigars being lighted, via! towards Chiavari, in which neigh-
bourhood the Cardinal resided. It was the first of May
1848, and, indeed, a glorious May morning it was. The
luxuriant beauty of the vegetation, the blossoms and flowers
of the country around, was such that one might have fancied
oneself in a tropical climate. However,
9M)t an bag 2Bo icatb ©eligfeit g?6unben/
$8er fyat bag ©litcf fcfyon aufjer fufy gefunben.
At the town of Chiavari I took a guide to conduct me to
the Villa Fieschi, which was situated more in the direction
of the mountains, about two miles distant. Arrived, and
having dismissed my guide, I entered the court-yard, the
doors being wide open, but nobody to be seen, until I came
up to the house; there I met with an ecclesiastic who was
the secretary of the Cardinal, and to whom I stated the
object of my visit. He invited me immediately to walk
upstairs; and, having waited a short time in a salon which
contained man}r curious ancient paintings, I was presently
ushered into an adjoining room, and stood before the Car-
dinal, who might have been some sixty years of age, of
dignified appearance, and with a cheerful and healthy coun-
tenance. He was dressed in black, and wore a scarlet
scull-cap. At once the words of Schiller came into my
mind;
,/3rcei limner QKjnfjerrn truqen bie breifaofye Jtrone,4
5)ag SBIut ber ^iegfer fliept nur unter bent ^utpur gefunb."
3 The Roman Birotse, which the Wallons have yet in Bi-ruetta.
4 Pope Innocent IV., Sinibaldo Fiesco, 1243 — 1254, and Adrian
V., Ottobono Fiesco, in 1276, from July to September. Inno-
cent IV., was the first Pope who introduced the golden rose, and
88 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
I excused myself as well as I could, that it was "1'amour
pour la science numismatique " which had brought me before
his eminence. The Cardinal threw a penetrating glance at
me, and, probably convinced that I was a harmless fellow,
seated himself on the sofa, and invited me to do the same.
I then briefly stated, that I was in possession of rare coins,
struck by his ancestors,5 which one day I might, perhaps,
publish, and that I should feel grateful to his eminence for
any information with regard to dates and facts, etc.
The Cardinal was sorry not to be able to comply
with my request immediately, because all the family docu-
ments which he possessed were in the library of his palace
at Rome. But if ever I should come to that city again, he
would be glad to see me, and would give me all the informa-
tion I might require on that subject. Or if I would note
down in writing, the names of those of the Fieschi of whom
I possessed coins, he then would forward to me the result of
his researches, wherever I thought proper. In that case, I
the red hats for the Cardinals ; as a symbol that they should be
ready at any time to shed their blood for the church if required.
He built in the county of Lavagna seventeen palaces, which were
mostly burned down by the Emperor Frederic II., and in 1252 he
built a great Basilica near the town of Lavagna.
In a MS. Chronicle (Memoria di Chiavari) in possession of
Sig. Antonio Solari, at Chiavari, who permitted me to inspect it
for Numismatic matters, I noticed also, that in A.D. 992, Rubaldo
Flisco, son of Tedisio, held in fief from the Emperor Otho III.,
(983 — 1002) Lavagna, "contuttal'aqua,"i.e., all the river Endella
also the town of Sestri, and those lands wherein are situated the
far famed slate quarries called Lavagna (slate in Gaelic is leac.)
From 1280 to 1292, we have Bonifacio Fiesco as Archbishop of
Ravenna, who, in 1280, began to strike coins in that city. A
Niccolo Fiesco was Bishop of Toulon 1518 — 1524. In the annals
of Genoa, I found mentioned several Bishops of that family.
Obizio, 1288— 1292; Giacomo, 1393— 1400; Giorgio, 1436—
1439; and Laurenzio in 1 705. The wife of Azzo Visconti, Lord of
Milan, 1328—1339, was an Isabella dei Fieschi.
5 All these coins are now in the British Museum.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 89
mentioned the Marquis Giuseppe Durazzo, at Genoa, who
had honoured me at different periods with permission to
visit him at his palace, and where I particularly recollect,
one evening, the Marquis being surrounded by his beautiful
little family, his amiable Marchioness, and, of course, plenty
of old coins, showed that
L'etude des sciences est une sorte de francmaconnerie, qui rap-
proche les homraes, et les lie par un lien d'interet commun.6
F. SORET.
I then brought out my supposed new discovery of a coin
struck by a Sebastian de' Fieschi. The Cardinal inspected
it for a good while, but observed, however, that although the
name of Sebastian occurred in his family, he did not think
the coin could have been issued by a Fieschi, because none
of his ancestors did, nor could ever have styled himself a
prince in any public or even private document, because they
were only Counts of Lavagna, Lords of Messerano,7 etc.
Besides, the saint represented on the reverse of the coin
referred neither to the country of Lavagna nor to the family,
and therefore, his opinion was, that the coin did not belong
to the Fieschi.
I then showed him a coin of Messerano, which his emi-
nence approved of. Having also by me a fine silver medal
referring, in my opinion, to the well known conspiracy of
Ludovico Fiesco, Count of Lavagna, against the all-powerful
sway of the family Doria, at that time (1547) in Genoa, I
shewed it to the Cardinal, who had never previously seen it.
On the obverse, is represented the bust of the great Andrea,
(the Nelson of those days) in armour, wearing a long beard.
6 Sir Walter Scott says somewhere, that "the dice, like the
grave, levels these distinguishing points of Society."
7 In 1394, May 29th, Antonio Fiesco, Count of Lavagna, was
invested with the Lordship of Messerano, by Pope Boniface IX.
Zanetti, vol. ii., p. 99.
90 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
He appears far advanced in age; to the left in the field, is a
trident, and inscribed ANDREAS DORIA.8
The reverse shows the youthful and handsome bust of the
famous conspirator himself.9
The Cardinal observed, smilingly, that there was a like-
ness. However, when I begged him to observe, that this
side of the medal had no inscription, and that where there
ought to have been one, a chain was to be seen, such as
galley-slaves used to wear ; and that also the neck of the
8 I copied the following inscription under a window, outside the
Church of St. Matteo, at Genoa.
MAIORVM NOSTRVM
MEMORIA ANDREAS DORIA
AFFLICTAM PATRIAM
NON DESERVIT.
And on his tomb in the subterranean part of that church,
ANDREAS D'ORIA
HAG IN CELLA CRVCI. D. N I.
A SE DEDICATA SEPVLCRVM
SIBI VIVENS PARAV1T.
A.D. 3547.
And over a door of an ancient fine house in the Piazza Matteo,
is inscribed SENAT: CON: ANDREW
DE ORIA PATRICE
LIBERATORI MVNVS
PVBLICVM.
9 Some years ago, when Mr. Anderson, a distinguished actor,
brought out Schiller's tragedy of Fiesco, at Drury Lane, I went
to him at one of the rehearsals a day or two before the perform-
ance, and showed him this very medal, at the sight of which
he was highly pleased. I gave him also, the coloured coat of
arms of the families of the Dorias, as well as of the Fieschi.
There was also present the eminent Mr. Planche", who told me
that he had looked in vain, in public as well as private collections,
for the arms of the Fieschi. I had the satisfaction to see them
introduced in some of the costumes, as well as in the decoration
of the scenery, during the performance.
It was the Marquis G. Durazzo, at Genoa, who had copied
them himself, as well as many other coats of arms of distinguished
Genoese families, from a manuscript in his library, and kindly
presented them to me.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 91
bust was chained to a small galley, probably to indicate the
punishment he deserved for his crime, had he lived : at this
my interpretation, his Eminence could not restrain himself
any longer, but burst out into a loud laugh, and calling in
his secretary, said to him, that " Questo Signer Tedesco,
has been so kind as to shew me the portrait of one of my
ancestors as Galleotto." I was certainly not embarassed,
because the Cardinal himself, scarcely a minute before, had
acknowledged that there was a likeness in the portrait.
His Eminence condescended to converse with me for a
good while on many topics, numismatics, travelling, on
England, etc. ; and when I thought it time to take leave, he
observed to me, " that if ever I came again to Chiavari, I
was not to neglect going to see a church, dedicated to
St. Salvatore di Lavagna, situated still nearer the moun-
tains. He told me that it was the best Transalpine gothic
edifice in that part of the country, but that it was seldom
visited by travellers ; it had been built by one of his ances-
tors,10 and that I might see there many very fine ancient
monuments of his family. The road," he continued,
" leading to it, is certainly not a very good one ; and a
torrent must be crossed, as there was no bridge, and which
did not permit a ferry, on account of its shallowness during
most parts of the year; but that there were always strong
men on the spot, to carry people over for a trifle."
So I took leave of his Eminence, wishing from all my
heart, that he might yet enjoy in good health, for many
years to come, such fine days of May : and on my way,
returning to Chiavari, I reflected with pleasure upon the
kind reception I had received from Cardinal Fieschi.
And it was, indeed, with a sincere gratification and
pleasure, that I read in the newspaper of Cologne
10 Probably Pope Innocent I V7., Sinibaldo Fiesco : 1243 — 1254.
92
NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
(Kolnische Zeitung), of the 8th of July, 1856, the following
paragraph : — " Rome, 20th June. The venerable Cardinal
Fieschi is so far convalescent, after having been for a long
while unwell, that he was able, on St. John's day, to cele-
brate the solemn Festival-mass in the principal church of
the Knights of Malta." And it was further observed, that
"Since Lambruschini's death, Cardinal Fieschi became
Grand Prior of the Order, whose members met this year
from different parts of Italy, in greater numbers than on
former occasions," etc.
Arrived at Geneva, I shewed my new acquisition of coins
and medals to my highly esteemed friend, M. F. Soret,
administrator of the Cantonal Museum, who at once con-
gratulated me upon my supposed Fiesco testoon, which he
pronounced to be a Swiss coin of the greatest rarity, an
inedited testoon of Sebastian de Montfaucon, bishop of
Lausanne; that there was only one more specimen known
in a private collection at Zurich; that the Museum of
Geneva possessed a copy of it; and that my specimen was
even a little better preserved.
INEDITED TESTOON OF SEBASTIAN DE MONTFAUCON, THE
LAST BISHOP OF LAUSANNE, 1517 — 1536.11
Obv. — Bust of the bishop to the right, represented about the
age of thirty-eight, apparently attired with the
vestment, and wearing the hair rather long, ac~
11 This coin is now in the British Museum.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 93
cording to the custom of the time. (Inscribed
SEB^EPS^£T^PRINCEPS^LAV(Sebastianu8
Episcopus et Princeps Lausanensis).
Rev. — On the Rev. is represented the seated figure of Saint
Marius, named as the first bishop and patron
saint of Lausanne, and the last of Aventicum.
He has the aureola round his head, and is in the
act of giving the benediction. The left hand is
also raised, in which he holds a palm branch.
S^MARIVS^MARTIRIS. In the exergue, we
observe an imperial eagle, and to the right is a
flower for a mint-mark. These testoons (quarti)
of Lausanne, not being of the best silver, their
circulation was prohibited at Parma. Zanetti,
V., p. 102.
Sebastian was the son of Fran9ois de Montfaucon,
brother of bishop Aymon, lord of Pierre Charres, and
Jacqueline de la Rochette, in Savoy, lie was born in
1495, and was appointed bishop of Lausanne on the 18th
of September, 1517, by Pope Leo X., and the Emperor
Maximilian I ; and died at his Chateaux des Terraux, in
Bugey (Bugesia), in 1560, having survived the loss of his
bishopric twenty-four years.
It appears that the house of Montfaucon, or Montfaulcon,
takes its name from a castle, Monte Falconis, situated in
the neighbourhood of Besan9on. The family had, however,
also possessions in the Pays de Vaud, and in Savoy.
Amedee, or Amey de Montfaucon, son of Richard, count
of Montbeillard, bought, in 1273, the castle and territory
d'Echellens, for the sum of one hundred and forty "librae
denariorum monetae Lausanensis," of the Chevalier Pierre
de Cheseaux, of Lausanne. From 1347 to 1356, we have
Fran9ois; and 1491 to 1517, Aymon de Montfaucon,
bishops of Lausanne. Aymon was a son of William de
Montfaucon, lord of Flaxieux, in Bugey ; his mother,
Margaretha de Villette Chevron.
When the life of bishop Aymon was on the decline, many
VOL. XIX. O
94 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
of the gentry, spiritual as well as temporal, applied to him to
take his cousin, Sebastian de Montfaucon, as his coadjutor.
At first, Aymon refused to comply with their wish ; but,
upon their pressing solicitation, he consented ; observing,
however, that they would soon regret having given them-
selves so much trouble for his cousin, because he knew his
disposition better than they did. It may be observed, that
the bishop of Lausanne was chosen from among thirty-two
canons of the cathedral, and was honoured, since the four-
teenth century, with the title of Count of Lausanne, and
Prince of the Holy Empire, thus partaking of the
sovreignty as well as the township.12
The bishop was temporal prince, however, only over a
part of the town of Lausanne, the four parishes of Lavaux,
the vale and priory of Lutry, part of Vevey, and the castle
and constableship of Avenches. Rudolph III., last king of
the Burgundians, second race, was crowned at Lausanne,
on which occasion he presented the bishop with the country
of Vaud (Comitatus Waldensis). The act is of A D. 1011,
made at Vevey. Since that time, the bishops of Lausanne
acquired great territory, and became mighty lords. In the
fourteenth cenlury, they bore the following title: — "By
the grace of God, and of the holy Apostolic seat, Bishop
and Count of Lausanne, and Prince of the Holy Roman
Empire."
Under the German empire, Lausanne itself enjoyed great
liberties and valuable privileges, without being exactly an
imperial town, although under imperial protection, to which
the small eagle on the coin probably refers.13
12 In the Conservateur Suisse, we find that in the year 1405,
it was " Defense de faire un foyer sans une chemine'e elev6e au
moins de 6 pieds au dessus du toit, sous peine de 10 s., la demi
a 1'Eveque, la demi a la ville." •
13 In 1297, the Emperor Adolphus of Nassau, and Pope
Gregory X., had a conference at Lausanne, in which that Em-
peror confirmed to the Pope, the possession of the Exarchate of
Ravenna, the Marches of Ancona, and'the Duchy of Spoleto.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 95
In 1251, the Emperor William, of Holland, pledged Aries,
Besan^on, Lausanne, and, with them, also the imperial
rights, for 10,000 marks of silver, to Hugo, duke of
Burgundy. In 1259, Louis, Seigneur de Bugey, son of
Thomas of the House of Savoy, bore the title of Baron de
Vaud. About 1271, a good deal more of the Pays de Vaud
had past, by little and little, under the domination of that
branch of the House of Savoy, and that part of the country
was then called the Baronie de Vaud.
In 1368, May 1st, the laws of Lausanne were consoli-
dated under the name of " Placitum generale," still called
"Plaid general,"14 which was promulgated with the greatest
eclat, of which the " Chroniques du pais de Vaulx," gives us
a specimen, that about that period, namely, in the time of
bishop Aymon, 1356 to 1375, " Un pore, qui avait tue un
enfant a Chatillens pres d'Oron, fut traduit en jugement a
Lausanne et condamne cornme meurtrier ; le sautier de la
ville re9ut ordre de faire pendre cet animal au gibet."
The governor had the guardianship of the keys of the city,
as exemplified when Charles II., Duke of Savoy, came to
Lausanne in 1532. The burgomaster Louis de Seigneux
presented him the keys with these words: " Je vous reniets
les clefs de notre ville, non point pour y dominer, mais,
afin que vous y dormiea en plaine securite."
The chronicles of the Pays de Vaud relate, that the irri-
tating conduct of the clergy prepared the people to favour
the Reformation. It appears that the clergy of Lausanne
14 Allusion is made somewhere, that this word is derived from
the Celtic plaid, plegyd, which signifies to take part, to side with
one ; the Welsh pleidiwr, a partisan ; Cyd-blaid, a confederate.
The word plaid is found on the earliest French monuments, at a
time when none of the Latin consonants were lost, and where it
would certainly have been written plaict, if it had been immedi-
ately derived from placitvm.
96 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
were so ignorant, that when, in 1527 (November 27th), the
Bernese demanded of bishop Sebastian de Montfaucon, to
send them some of the most learned dignitaries, to assist at
the conference about to take place at Berne, on matters of
reformation, they concluded their application with these
energetic words : " Haec boni consulite, hisque locum date,
quum Paternitatis vestrae officium sit, non solum tondere,
verum etiam Christi oves pacere." Which may be transla-
ted thus : "Consider this well, and grant this our petition,
since it is your fatherly duty not to shear only, but also to
pasture the sheep of Christ." The bishop Sebastian answer-
ed, "Qu'il n'avait pas de gens assez instruits dans 1'Ecriture
Sainte pour une affaire aussi importante que 1'examen de la
religion."15 But none of the monks of the Burgundian or
" Romant " part of Switzerland, distinguished themselves
for their learning; and Berenger, of Tours, called that
country the modern Bosotia. It was, at that time, a vast
forest, inhabited only within the immediate range of those
castles and mountains, which were thinly scattered over its
surface.
The progress of the Reformation, which increased more
and more at Lausanne, made the bishop indignant against
the inhabitants. In 1533, the people complained most bit-
terly against Sebastian de Montfaucon, and among the many
grievances, more or less severe, which were brought forward
against him, was, in particular, the following threat pro-
nounced by the bishop against the inhabitants. "Je ferai
tant, que vous et vos enfans, en pleureront sur vos genoux
avec des larmes de sang."16
The fear of such a menace, disposed the inhabitants of
Lausanne to throw themselves, in 1535, into the arms of the
15 Levade, p. 171.
16 Ruchat (A.), Abrege" de 1'Histoire Ecclesiastique du Pays de
Vaud. Berne, 1707, Svo. p. 100.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 97
Bernese, with whom they were already allies since 1525, as
likewise with those of Freyburg. This treaty was concluded
at Berne, on the 25th of December, 1535, for the term of
25 years, notwithstanding all the efforts of the bishop to
prevent it.
In the beginning of the year 1536, the Bernese entered
the Pays de Vaud ; the bishop, however, was respected and
not molested, until it was found out that he intended by
intrigue to place the country in the hands of the Duke of
Savoy.17 This was proved by the following intercepted
letter which the bishop had written to his bailiff at Vevey,18
Monsieur Curtilliers wherein he gave him orders to raise a
levy of men in the country of Lavaux.
Letter of Sebastian de Montfaulcon, Bishop of Lausanne, to
Monsieur de Curtilliers, his Bailiff" at Vevey, in the year 1536. '9
Monsieur le Baillif, je vous veulx bien advertir comme aujourdhui
suis arrive ici,20 pour venir veoir mes subgets, et pour les faire
mettre en 1'ordre, tant pour la manutention de la foy, que de
monseigneur et pais, et a ce soer ay ben nouvelles comme le
capitaine Colloneys est arrive a Morge avec une belle bande
d'italiens bien en ordre, et a mande partout dellk le lac pour
avoir gens, pour aller audevant de ceulx de Berne, pour leur don-
ner la bataille, si me semble que nous devons tous ayder, aller la
ou sera le grand flot, car si d'aventure nous perdions, que Dieu ne
veuille, le pays, les villes ne seriont pas puis apres pour nous
resister, et ne faut point faire comme les Remains firent, quand
J7 On surprit de ses lettres qui marquoient Fintelligence qu'il
entretenoit avec les ennemis de ce canton. See Watteville, Hist.
de la Confederation Helvet, Yverdon, 1768, p. 170.
18 In 1222, a part of Vevey belonged to the Seigneurs de Bloney,
who sold it to William d'Escublens, Bishop of Lausanne. The
rest of the town belonged to the Duke of Savoy.
*9 Levade, Dictionnaire Geographique, Statistique et Historique
du Canton de Vaud. Lausanne, 1824, p. 404.
20 At his chateau of Glerolle, situated on the borders of the
lake near St. Saphorin, between Lausanne and Vevey; it is one
of the most ancient castles in that part of the country. By various
objects of Roman antiquities, and coins found there, one may con-
clude that it was a place of some consequence.
98 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
feu M. de Borbon print Rome, car chescun se voloyt garcler son
pallays qui fut cause de leur ruyne, et de ce ay bien vouslu adver*
tir, afin, si bon vous semble le communiquer a M. M. de Vivey et
aux lieux circonvoisins ; et de mon couste" ne restera point que je
ne fasse mon debvoir. Si vous avez quelques nouvelles, je vous
prie de m'en advertier. Faisant fin a ma lettre, apres m'estre re-
commande a vous de bon cosur, et prie nostre Seigneur de vous
donner ce que vous d6sirez.
a Glerole, ce 25 jour Janvyer.
le bien vostre,
1'Evesque de Lausanne.
The bishop, at the same time, having returned to Lausanne,
sent a messenger to Captain Colloneys, who was at Morges,
to let him know of the departure of the auxiliaries from
Lausanne, which would facilitate an attempt upon that town ;
however, those of Lausanne obtaining information, demanded
help of the burghers of the neighbouring towns of Lutry,
Vilette, and of St. Saphorin; a favourable answer came,
and almost as quick a company of well armed citizens, who
uniting themselves under the wild blazon of the bear, pre-
vented the invasion which the bishop had projected.
In those days, as well as in earlier times, the bishops
themselves exchanged the mitre for a helmet, and went to
war, as we have it in the well known story of Philip, Bishop
of Beauvais, who was taken prisoner in battle by Richard I.,
King of England, in 1196 The Pope having claimed him
as a son of the church, Richard sent to his holiness the
bishop's sword and armour, with the words of Scripture,
" See if this is the coat of thy son." In the famous battle
of Laupen,212lst of July, 1339, three bishops were engaged
in the fight; one was the Bishop of Lausanne, the others
were the Bishops of Basle and Lyons. At the battle of
Mohaz, 1526, the Bishop of Buda was slain. However, one
of the greatest warrior bishops, was he of Sion, Matthew
Schiner, at the sanguinary battle of Marignano, 13th — 14th
21 It was at this memorable battle, that Louis of Savoy, Lord
of the Pays de Vaud, lost his only son.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 99
September, 1515. Even as late as 1690, Walker, Bishop
of Derry, was killed at the battle of the Boyne. But to
return to our Sebastian de Montfaucon, who preferred run-
ning away to fighting: as soon as he perceived that his letter
to Curtilliers, bailiff of Vevey, had been intercepted by the
Bernese, and that the consequences must inevitably effect
his ruin, he evacuated the castle of Lausanne, during the night
of the 22nd to 23rd of March, 1536, and retired to Friburg.
On the most elevated part of Lausanne is situated the
castle, which was commenced by Bishop Jean de Cossonay
in 1255; however, the castle was built upon a more ancient
one (Dun), because we find that in the year A.D. 892, Rudolph
II., King of Burgundy resided for a time af'Castrum Lau-
sanense." It was finished by Bishop Guillaume de Challand,
in 1425, bearing the name of Chateau de St. Maire, on
account, of a neighbouring old church of that name dedi-
cated to the first bishop and patron, Saint Marius, who is
represented on our coin. The castle, which now bears the
name of Maison Cantonal, was the residence of the prelates
until the conquest of the Pays de Vaud by the Bernese.
During the fifteenth century, it contained the Mint. In
1368, the Mint is mentioned to have been in the Rue de
Bourg. " Le seigneur Eveque ne peut battre ou faire
battre monnoie sans le consentement des trois ordres (the
chapter, the nobility, and the townsmen) ; c'est toujours
dans la Rue de Bourg que le battra la monnoie de Lau-
sanne."22 There was a chamber in the castle, called
22 Statuts de 1'Eveche, 1368. We may here observe, that in
the year 1209, Roger, bishop of Lausanne, had given as a feudal
privilege, to Ulricas III., Count of Neufchatel, the right of
striking coins. This concession was afterwards disputed by the
states of the bishoprick, and was bought back in 1225 by the
bishop Guillaume d'Ecublens. However, later in 1347, the
Emperor Charles IV., accorded the right of the Mint to Count
Louis.
100 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
1'Eveque, and which contained a sort of an antique shrine.,
or rather large chair, apparently immoveable, turning,
however, upon hinges, and concealing a small door, which
conducted to a secret staircase, communicating with a sub-
terranean passage, which had its issue outside the town.
It was by this door, that Sebastian de Montfaucon escaped
during the siege of the castle by the Bernese.
On the 29th of March, the Bernese likewise took Chateau
de Chillon, after a valiant defence by the Savoyard garri-
son. The citizens of Geneva had also sent some large
boats, with artillery and troops, to lay siege to the Chateau
by water, to assist in the deliverance of their eminent
citizen, Bonnivard, Prior of St. Victor, who had been kept
prisoner at Chillon23 for six years and six months, by the
Duke of Savoy.
All the country, from Morat to Geneva, was conquered
in eleven days, and with only 7,000 men ; and in less than
three months, a great part of the Pays de Vaud, the Barony
of Gex, and part of Cbablais.
The Bernese forthwith took possession of all the estates
belonging to the bishop (1st April, 1536), on account of his
having made common cause with the Duke of Savoy,
against whom the Bernese had lately (16th January, 1536)
declared war, in consequence of the Duke's infraction of
the treaty of St. Julien (1st October, 1530).
In 1537, a college or academy was founded at Lausanne,
and endowed from the sequestration of the convents.
Since the seventh century, Lausanne was, indeed, a rich
Episcopal See, and numbered in 1520, in the diocess, not
less than 7 Chapters of Collegiate Churches, 9 Abbeys, 25
Priories, 7 Rectories (Rectorats d'Hospices), and 299 Cura-
23 In 1218, we find the names Zillium and Gillum ; and in
1236, Castrum Cnilione.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 101
torships. Lausanne was then governed by an officer from
Berne, till 1798, when it fell into the hands of the French,
who made it the capital of the department of the Leman.
It is somewhat curious, that the obverse of our coin
shews the portrait of the last bishop of Lausanne, while the
reverse exhibits to us the figure of its first bishop, namely,
St. Marius. And here it is a pleasure to me to be able to
*ive some satisfactory account of the life of this venerable
and worthy man. I must again observe, that exactly the
same design (but of course with different names) of the
seated figure of St. Marius on our coin prevails, and is
represented on the testoons of Ludovico Fiesco, 1517 —
1530, and on some of Pietro Luca Fiesco, 1532 — 1575, as
well as on a testoon of Bartolomeo Tizzoni, Count of
Desana, 1525 — 1535; and as it also happens that the
period, as well as the workmanship of all those coins cor-
responds, I am convinced that the dies for all the four coins
in question, were made by one and the same artist.
On the coins of the Fieschi, St. Theonestus is represented
by the artist as a martyr;24 and the like has been done with
St. Theodorus, on a testoon of Desana/5 as well as with
St. Marius on our testoon of Lausanne. This last circum-
stance is, however, too important for the illustration of the
coin, which we now publish for the first time, to pass over;
because the legend, S. MARIVS MART1RIS ., as well as his
holding in the left hand a palm branch,26 cannot be correct,
24 Vittorio, II Fiorino d'oro. Firenze, 1738, 4to., p. 263,
fig. 1,2.
25 Gazzera Mem. Stor. del Tizzoni, Conti di Desana. Torino,
1842, 4to.,pl. ii., fig. 6.
26 Since very remote times, the palm branch was always re-
presented as a symbol of triumph ; and upon the oldest Christian
works of art, we find the palm branch generally represented as a
symbol of martyrdom, which we have also so often observed on
the tombs of Christian martyrs in the catacombs of Rome and
VOL. XIX. P
102 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
as Marius died in peace at Lausanne, on the 31st of De-
cember, A.D. 601 (on which day his festival was kept), at
the age of sixty-four, and in the twenty -first year of his
episcopate. For his exemplary life, he was placed among
the number of saints. Cuno d'Estavaye, the registrar of
the Chartulary of Lausanne, A.D. 1235, speaking of Marius,
says : " Nobilis genere, seel nobilior moribus." Not only
had he been considered, in later days, as the best and most
zealous of all those men who sat on the episcopal chair of
Lausanne, but, perhaps, even of all Switzerland. Soon
after, his body was deposited in a little church which stood
near the old castle, and had previously the name of St.
Thyrsi (Thyrsus, martyr, who suffered under Decius, at
Nicea), but afterwards was called St. Maire in respect to
his memory. " In Ecclesia Beati Marii que quodam
dicebatur Beati Thyrsii." (Chart. Lausanne )
The cathedral of Notre Dame was founded by Bishop
Henry, Count of Lenzburg, about A.D. 1044. In 1274, the
Emperor Rudolph I., of Hapsburg, consecrated in person
the restored cathedral.
Marius was a native of Antun, of a noble family, and in
some degree related to the royal house of Burgundy.
At a synod, held at Macon (Consilium Matisconense), in
A.D. 581, he was created bishop of Aventicum27 (Pagus
Naples. Even as late as the fifteenth century, the dead were
represented on tombstones holding palm brandies in their hands,
to indicate the victory which they had obtained. The branch of
a palm tree was called Bai in Egypt; and as the palm tree was
supposed to be immortal, or, at least, if it did die, to revive and
enjoy a second life, the Egyptians gave the name of Bai to the
soul.
27 The Rev. F. C. Husenbeth, in his Ikonographie (Emblems
of Saints), London, 1850, p. 94, has mentioned a St. Marius as
the hermit.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 103
Aventicensis). He was then about the age of forty-three.
At a second synod, also held at Macon, in A.l). 585, by
Gontram, King of Burgundy and Orleans, 561 — 593,
Marius also assisted, and subscribed himself as " Episcopus
Aventicorum."
It may be observed, that at that period, the kingdom of
Burgundy extended itself from the Loire, as far as
Sedunum in the Valais ; and from the Rhone (Avignon) to
the sources of the Maas, and the Moselle.
The Burgundians had already obtained, in the last year
of Honorius, A.D. 423, a permanent seat and dominion in
the province of Gaul. The continual devastation of the
Burgundians, and other hordes of barbarians about the
nearly ruined city of Aventicurn, made it a dangerous resi-
dence for the bishop. A poet of old laments thus over the
fall of that once splendid metropolis : —
" Quse caput Helvetise fueram jam nominis umbra
Magni, reliquias vix traho parva meas."
King Gontram, being well aware of the merit, the zeal
and importance of such a man as Marius, gave positive
order, in A.D. 590, that he should transfer the episcopal
see from Aventicum, which was situated in a plain, to the
more secure elevated situation of Lausodunurn. It may
here be observed, that the old name of the former Lausona,
situated in the plain of Vidy, appears to have been adopted
instead of that of Lausodunum, as is proved by the golden
Tremissi of Lausanne of that period, and by somewhat later
documents, namely, the act of the foundation of the Abbey
at Payerne, which the Burgundian queen Bertha finished.
It is called "Actum vero Lausona civitate." The episcopal
chair of Augusta Rauracorum (Augst. Episcopi Raura-
corum) was likewise transferred from its smoking ruins to
104 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Basle, A.D. 451, and also that of Octodurum (Martigny) to
Sion,28 and that of Vindonissa29 ( Windisch) to Constance.
Marius, as we have seen, was held in great respect by
King Gontrain, who, on the Bishop's solicitation, gave many
valuable donations to the church of Lausanne, and also
founded at Geneva the Church of St. Peter, on the ruins of
a temple of Apollo. Gontram died at Chalons on the 28th
of March, 593. Chalons was at that time the capital of
the kingdom of Burgundy, which comprised Autun, Macon,
Avench, Lausanne, Sion and Geneva.
I may here mention, that when that eminent Irish preacher
of Christianity, St. Columbanus, arrived in Switzerland, he
came to the court of Gontram. The King earnestly desired
to retain him, but, refusing all overtures of wealth and ease,
he went towards Besuntium (Besan9on), in which neighbour-
hood he founded, in A.D. 689, the Abbey of Luxevil, which
he governed for 20 years.
In A.D. 610— 612, we find St. Columbanus and St. Gallus,
his disciple, in the neighbourhood of Zurich. In A.D. 614,
St. Gallus founded the famous Abbey of St. Gall. It appears
also, that Gontram had given previously to Marius himself
large estates, near, or at, the ruins of Paterniacum, an
ancient town situated on the small river Broye, a few miles
from Aventicum. This estate he often visited ; and even
sometimes cultivated it himself, and, at other leisure hours
in winter, he fabricated, with his own hand, sacrificial vessels.
"Ecclesiae ornatus vasi fabricando sacratis. Et manibus
28 This may have happened later in A.D. 580, when the great-
est part of the town of Octodurum was destroyed by the slip of
a mountain.
*9 About Vindossa, Eusebius, who died in A.D. 340, narrates
in a passage, " What shall I recite of the fields near Vindossa,
covered over with the bodies of the enemy, and still white with
their bones? "
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 105
propriis praedia justa colens." (Mentioned on his epitaph.
Chron. Chartul. Lausann.)
Other examples might be given, how the bishops in those
days, travelled out of the special duties of their office. For
instance, St. Piranus, born A.D. 352, of noble parents, in the
county of Ossory in Ireland, having been ordained Bishop
at Rome, fixed his abode among a simple people in the west
of Cornwall, and passed a long and exemplary life. In the
fulfilment of his sacred calling, he was equally zealous in in-
structing his parishioners in the useful arts, and especially in
the working of metals. The Cornish miners venerate the name
of Piranus. From him was named a very curious church,
now in ruins in Cornwall, called Perranzabuloe, that is, St.
Pieran in the sand (Sanctus Piranus in Sabulo.) Also in the
life of St. Hilary, we observe, that from the time he rose, any
one who wished to see him was received. He performed the
office of a justice of peace, and afterwards repaired to the
church and performed service; he also performed manual
labours, sometimes spinning for the poor, sometimes culti-
vating the fields of his church. Thus passed his day, in the
midst of his people, in grave and useful occupation of pub-
lic interest. This it appears was often the life of a bishop
in the fifth century.30 At a later period, as we have seen,
many bishops took a fancy for fighting.
Marius must be considered as the founder of the present
town of Payerne, A.D. 595, having first built a church there
in honour of the blessed Virgin (" Templum et Villa in pro-
prio patrimonio edificavit." Chron. Chartularii Lausann.)
The consecration of that church took place on the 24th of
June, A.D. 584. Some antiquarians were of opinion that
the name of Paterniacum, which was still so written during
30 Vide M. Guizot's History of Civilization.
106 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
the middle ages, alluded to the fact that Marius had built
that town on his proper inheritance. Others preferred the
name of a distinguished Roman family, the Paternii, of
whom many inscriptions had been found in Western
Switzerland. That name was also known at Aventicum,
an inscription records a Graggius Paternus, Curator
Colonia? (Aventicum).
However, the termination in ac in the ancient name of
Payerne, appears to me to allude to a Celtic origin. The
place had been known to the Romans, and there had been,
or is still to be seen, an inscription on the bridge over the
Broye, dedicated to Jupiter31 (Zeus Pater), the genius of
the place, and to the goddess who gives favourable returns
(Fortuna redux). It appears that towards the end of the
tenth century, the present town of Payerne was at its
highest point as a prosperous and thriving and even
fashionable town. Bertha, the dowager queen of Bur-
gundy.32 considered as one of the brightest examples of
domestic virtue on a throne, resided at Payerne, where she
enlarged and enriched the church built by Marius. On
documents signed by her, the seals bear the inscription
"Bertha humilis Regina," A.D. 961. She built there an
abbey from the neighbouring ruins of Aventicum, and
endowed it with lands and vassals. The name of the first
abbot was Majolus. Even to this day, there is still a saying
at Payerne, which alludes to that excellent queen whose
distaff became proverbial, " ce n'est plus le temps ou Berthe
filait." When, in 1817, the sarcophagus which enclosed
the ashes of Queen Bertha, was discovered in the dilapi-
S1 Bochat, vol. ii., p. 438,
32 Bertha was a daughter of the Duke of Suabia, and widow of
King Rudolph II., who died in A.D. 937, 1 3th of July, and was
buried at the monastery of St. Maurice.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 107
dated abbey at Payerne, the Conseil d'Etat, of the Canton
de Vaud, had it honourably placed in the parish church of
Payerne, with an inscription, composed by the dean,
M. Bridel. Payerne continued more or less prosperous,
until, as it appears, towards the end of the fourteenth cen-
tury. But, alas ! now-a-days, instead of spreading out
into the country, the country enters into the town. In fact,
it seems to be, like Avenches, a dying town. "Une
ville qui meurt ! chose triste et solemnelle ! Les rues
se defont. Ou il y avait une rangee de maisons, il n'y a
plus qu'une muraille ; on il y avait une muraille, il n'y a
plus rien. L'herbe remplace le pave. La vie se retire vers
le centre, vers le coeur, comme dans I'homme agonisant.
Ce sont les extremites qui meurent les premieres, les mem-
bres chez Phomme, les faubourgs dans les villes. Les
endroits habites perdent les etages. Les eglises s'effond-
rent, se deforment et s'en vont en poussiere, non faute de
croyances, comme dans nos fourmillieres industrielles, mais
faute de croyants. Des quartiers tout entiers tombent en
ruine. II est presque etrange d'y passer ; des especes de
peuplades sauvages s'y installent. Ici ce n'est plus la ville
qui se repand dans la campagne, c'est la campagne qui rentre
dans la ville. On defriche la rue, on cultive le carrefour,
on laboure le seuil des maisons ; Porniere profonde des
chariots a fumier creuse et bouleverse les ancients dallages ;
les pluies font des mares devant les portes ; le caquetage
discordant des basses-cours remplace les rumeurs de la
foule. D'une place reservee aux ceremonies imperiales33
on fait un carre de laitues.
"L'eglise devient une grange, le palais devient une
33 A.D. 1033. Imperator Conradus cum filio suo Henrico
veniens ad Paterniacum, etc. Bochat, Mem. Grit, de la Suisse,
ii., p. 267.
108 NUMISMATIC CF1RONICLE.
ferme,34 la tour devient un pigeonnier, la maison devient
31 From one of these farms, which appears to have been the
house or palace of the governor of Berne, I obtained a very fine
panel of glass-painting, dated 1575. It represents three differ-
ent coats of arms. On the upper division, to the right, over the
first coat of arms, appears Diana (rather a fat one), we will say
the Hyberborean (Diana Taurica) bathing, and attended by two
other females : one of them seems to be frightened (of Acteon).
Bees are seen flying over the figure of Diana. On the left
division, appears Acteon, as usual, cornuto, and accompanied by
two greyhounds. The device is EX V1RTVTE HONOS.
Under the first coat of arms, is inscribed JEORG MARCVARD
GENERAL COMMISSARY DES NVNTH GEWVNNEN
LANDS DER STADT BER ; George. Marcquard, General-
commissary of the ninth division of the conquered country by the
town of Berne. N.B. — The entire country of the Canton de
Vaud, was conquered by the Bernese in 1536.
On each of the two lower divisions, are seen two cherubim, on
the back of an eagle. The two other coats of arms are probably
those of a first and a second wife of George Marcquard. The one to
the left is placed under Acteon, and bears the name of MARyA
MADER1N. The other,to the right, has the name of ELISABHET
ZUR KINDENN, probably the second wife, and placed, of course,
under the division which represents the chaste Diana. Both
symbols of the arms allude to the names, as type parlante.
Considering the representation of bees over the figure of
Diana, we may here with pleasure allude to the reflective mind,
either of the artist who designed that division, or of him who gave
the order. With respect to the bee: this pure and remarkable in-
sect is an attribute of Diana. We find it near the head of Diana on
the coins of Naples ; and, in reference to the same idea, it appears
near the corn-ear on the coins of Metapontum. In the innocent
state of the heathen paradise, the first men lived uponhoney ; hence,
first nourishment, and purity of divine service, were the old ideas
symbolised by the bee, and hence priestesses were called melisses,
fitXiffaai, to remind them of their purity or sanctity. And,
therefore, Pindar (Pythian Games, iv., 106), calls the Pythian
priestess, " the Bee of Delphos." And so the bee became by
the ancients selected as a symbol of the mo?t important con-
ditions of life. The bee appears also as a symbol of a colony; —
see coins of Corinth and Ephesus, etc.
Having received a letter of invitation from the Secretary of
the Manchester Exhibition, for the contribution of any objects
which might be thought worthy of exhibition, I sent this glass-
painting, with two others, and likewise three ancient German
jars of the sixteenth century.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 109
une baraque, la boutique devient une echoppe, le bassin
devient un &ang, le citadin devient un paysan ; la cite est
morfe. Partout la solitude, 1'ennui, la poussi^re, la ruine,
1'oubli. Partout sur les places desertes, sur les passants
enveloppe's et mornes, sur les visages tristes, sur les pans
de murs ecroulees, sur les maisons basses, muettes et rares,
1'oeil de la pensee croit voir se projeter les longues et
melancoliques ombres d'un soleil couchant."
Returning again to St.Marius, we may state, that the
greatest part of his life was spent in useful pursuits, and
in benevolence. He wrote also a very valuable chronicle,
from the time of the Western Emperor Avitus, which he
commenced in A.D. 455, and continued up to September,
581. It contains the principal events of that period, and
preserves many facts which one may in vain look for any
where else, in particular with regard to important events of
the history of Burgundy. In Chron. II., pp. 188, 189, he
gives the principal facts of the life of King Sigismund,
and the conquest of Burgundy. Indeed, some French
writers distinguish him by the term of "Un des plus
anciens chroniqueurs de France qui sont parvenu jusqu'a
nous." 35
Marius having been also bishop of Aventicum, we might
perhaps, say more of that important Romano-Helvetic
colony (Aventicum Helvetiorum Foederata). Tacitus is
the first who speaks of that city (Hist. I., c. 68), calling it
" Gentis caput " ; and, according to many inscriptions still
extant, we may collect, that during the auspicious reign of
Augustus, this country enjoyed much prosperity, which,
under his profligate successors, was soon converted into a
most degrading state of servitude. Aventicum was one of
35 Dom. Rivet. Hist. Litter, de France, vol. iii., p. 400. Paris,
1735. 4to.
VOL. XIX. Q
110 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
those towns which Caesar obliged the Helvetii, after he had
beaten them in Gaul, to rebuild.
It appears, that when Vitellius was elected emperor by
the legions at Cologne, the death of Galba, assassinated at
Rome, A.D. 70, was not yet known at Aventicum (Helvetii
de caede Galba abnuentes, Tacit. I., c. 67). It also appears,
that Otho's brief occupation of the throne, was hardly
known in Helvetia. No monument of him has yet been
discovered there. Therefore, when Vitellius assumed the
purple, the XXI. Legion36 (Rapax) stationed at Vindo-
nissa, took offence at the loyalty which the Helvetians had
maintained in favour of Galba, and being joined by the
Thracian and other Legions, and headed by Allienus
(Aulus) Caecinna, one of the generals of Vitellius, a man of
great audacity and unexampled cruelty, ravaged the
country with fire and sword from Baden (Respublica
Aquensis), which they demolished, up to Aventicum, which
surrendered.
QBer bte £>orfer anftecft, fei fcevflucfyet!
€>fc e8 Mofcrogen ober Stonier.
£)fc e3 (Sfyriften rcareu ober «§eiben,
£>afj fte ©otteS argfter &Iu$ Betreffe,
Ober aucfy beg SeufelS tjefter @egen.
VOLKSLIBDER, der Aventici.
However, Julius Alpinus,37 the chief magistrate, known
36 An interesting account about this legion, is given by Dr.
Heinrich Meyer, of Zurich, in a treaty on the XI. and XXI.
Legion. " Geschichte der XI. and XXI. Legion." Zurich.
1853. I may observe, that Dr. H. Meyer has also lately written
a volume on the works of art and antiquities in the British
Museum, in which the reader will find many learned remarks on
the so far-famed marbles of the Parthenon. We hope that this
work, " Ein Besuch im brittischen Museum in Briefen, von Dr.
H. Meyer: Zurich, 1855," will, some day or other, be translated
into English.
37 Names of noble and distinguished leaders of the Helvetians,
who were sent by their nation at various times during the Gallic
war as ambassadors to Caesar, we have in Orgetorix, Numejus,
Verodoktius and Divico.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. Ill
as a friend of Galba, was demanded for instant execution,
as a traitor, by Aulus Caecinna,38 A.D. 70. Tacitus thus
relates this historical fact; "In Julium Alpinum, ut conci-
torem belli, Caecinna animadvertit ceteros saevitiae vel
veniae Vitelli reliquit." (Hist. I, 68.) No remonstrance
could avail, not even the eloquence and tears of his
daughter, Julia Alpinula, who was a priestess of the tutelar
deity of the town, Dea Aventia,39 could save the unfortunate
father.
Her sepulchral inscription, found at Aventicum, expresses
in pathetic language the sorrow which seems to have abridged
the days of the unhappy priestess.
IVLIA ALPINVLA HiC
IACEO
INFELICIS PATRIS IN
FELIX PROLES
DEAE AVENT. SACERD.
EXORARE PATRIS NE
CEM NON POTVI
MALE MORI IN FATIS
ILLI ERAT
VIXI ANNOS XXIII.
38 This Roman general was of a noble Etruscan family of Vola-
terra. It is curious, that Cicero made a speech to obtain the
citizenship for one of a similar name, Aulus Caecinna, whom he
mentioned in his speech as the noblest of all the Etruscans.
39 The ancients often established a religious worship in honour
of cities, similar to the personification of Rome, " Dea Roma,"
early in the second century B.C. (Tacit. Ann. iv. 56. Livius
xi. 3.) Of Autun we have "Dea Bibracta," of Nismes,
"Deus Nemausus," and so "Dea Aventia." It is curious, that
the town of Losdunum (Juliodunum), Dept. Vienne, has been
personified into a patron saint, that of St. Loudon. Bochat, ii.,
p. 497, gives an interesting inscription referring to an offering
made by a distinguished citizen of Aventicum, to the Deity
Aventia, and which M. Bocbat reads (p. 506) "Dea Aventise
Titus Tertius Severus, Curator Colonise idemque Allectus; cui
(Aventise) Incolse Aventicenses, primi omnium, ob ejus erga se
merita Tabulam argenteam Pondo quinquaginta (Librarum) posue-
112 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
"Here I lie, Julia Alpinula, unhappy daughter of an
unhappy father. Priestess of the goddess Aventia. My
father's fate I could not avert, a miserable end was predes-
tined to him. 1 lived twenty-three years." But the inscrip-
tion in question, unfortunately is no longer to be found, like
so many others which have been published and in time
destroyed, or employed for common building materials,
or carried to other places. Levade, in his Dictionnaire
Geographique, Stat. et Hist., du Canton de Vaud, Lau-
sanne, 1824, observes that this inscribed slab was carried to
England; "Cette epitaphe a ete transported en Angleterre,"
p. 21. If so, perhaps some antiquarian may discover it
again, as Mr. George Scharf, an excellent antiquarian and
artist, discovered, in 1852, at MarburyHall in Cheshire, the
residence of James Smith Burry, Esq., a fragment of great
interest of the Parthenon frieze. And upon the artist
naming to Mr. S. Burry its connection with the Elgin
marbles, that gentleman generously presented it to the
British Museum, where it now exactly fills a gap that long
existed in the northern frieze.
This inscription was published by the erudite Gruter, in
1602, after Lipsius; and so in time it appeared in other
works. I. C. Orellius, Ins. Rom. Ant., vol.i., p. 123,Turici
1828, gives several inscriptions alluding to Aventicum; he
gave this one also, but considered it a forgery (spuria), and
says that Lipsius, who was the first to publish it, about the
end of the sixteenth century, had the inscription from a
person of the name of Paulo Gulielmo, but as it had not
been seen by any one afterwards, Orellius and others con-
runt. Donum de sua pecunia ex Sesterciis Septingentis, Locus
datus decreto Decurionum." Of priests of Aventicum, Bochat,
ii., pp. 493 — 494, gives also several inscriptions. One of a
Lucius Camillus, who died at the age of 92.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 113
sidered it, without doubt, a composition of that knave (a
fraudulento homine) out of Tacitus, Hist. i. 68, as has
already been seen by Ryckius ad Tacit. Ann. iii, 23, etc.
Far be it from me to pretend to possess the ability to
argue with those distinguished archaeologists of our days,
who disbelieve in the genuineness of this inscription. I only
permit myself to observe, that, in my humble opinion, there
is not ground enough given by them, in fact none at all, to
prove that the inscription is a forgery. I have shown it to
several good latin scholars, and no fault is found with its
composition. And why may not the very historical fact related
by Tacitus, tell as well for the genuineness of the inscription,
as against it? In fact, the inscription is not important,
there is nothing about it extraordinary or recherche; it
merely gives us, in a very pathetic but simple way, to
understand, that the young priestess, pierced with sorrow
at the death of her unfortunate father, having in vain
urgently solicited his life, could not survive such severe
anguish ; that she died at the age of twenty-three years,
and that she herself, or her relations, wished that her
epitaph should express her tenderness for her father.
With regard to those words in the inscription, "male
mori in Fatis illi erat," we may observe, that it was
believed by the Pagans, that no one could avoid the career
of fate which destiny had fixed, and that the gods them-
selves could not annul or change it. So of Juno in the
^Ineid.
"Hoc regnum dea gentibus esse
Si qua fata sinant."
It is also to that fatality to which the Mahometans
submit themselves with an entire resignation; and thence
the common exclamation, "From that which is written
there is no escape." Referring to the name of Alpinula
in our inscription, it may be further observed, that women
114 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
used to adopt the diminutive of the name of their father
( Albinus) as a surname. Fabretti has given several examples
(Inscript. Antic, p. 172.)
It appears, moreover, that the family Alpinia must have
been distinguished not only in Aventicum, but also in other
places of Switzerland, according to inscriptions. One
found at Baden (Aquae Helveticae), near Zurich, relates
that a certain L. A. Magianus and his wife, Alpinia
Alpinula, furnished the money to supply the ornaments of a
temple of Isis, that stood at Baden.40
DEAE ISIDI TEMPLVM A SOLO
L. ANNVSIVS MAGIANVS
VIR AGVENSIS DE SVO POSVIT
AD CIVIVS TEMPLI ORNAMENTA
ALPINIA ALPINVLA CONIVNX.
ET PEREGRINA FIL X-C-DEDE
RVNT. L. D. D. VICANORVM.
It may be observed, that about 150 years ago, when the
Rev. Dr. Wild, of Avenche, wrote his "Apologie pour la
vieille cite d' Avenche en Suisse," published at Berne in
1710, a M. Cuper, a friend of Dr. Wild, did merely mention
in a letter41 to that meritorious archaeologist and historian
of his native town, that something like suspicion rises up
in his mind, as to the genuineness of that inscription of
Julia Alpinula. His words are " Nescio quid subdoli rnihi
oriatur," and that is all. But it does not appear that Dr.
Wild agreed with the opinion of M. Cuper. Bochat, in
his Mem. Crit, mentions also the allusion of M. Cuper to
that inscription in the letter to Dr. Wild, but without dis-
40 Bochat, vol. ii., pp. 374 — 402. He relates also, that on
the 22nd of August, 1633, there were found at Wettingen, near
Baden, sacred vessels, all of silver, the ornaments on which
allude to the worship of Mithras, so prevalent in Switzerland
under the Empire, like that of Osiris, and still more of Isis.
41 Published in the Museum Helvet., part i., p. 52.
JOURNAL OP A TRAVELLER. 115
cussing it. And so nothing more was thought about its
genuineness for almost a century, until, (as it appears to me),
Lord Byron alluded to the beauty of that inscription with
enthusiasm, in his Childe Harold. And now, from that time,
it seems that the doubt as to the genuineness of the inscrip-
tion is to revive again. It was declared decidedly a forgery,
by several distinguished archaeologists. The last allusions
made to it, I observe in the " Jahrbiicher des Vereins von
Alterthums Freunden im Rheinlande," year X., Bonn,
1852; and in the u Mittheilungen der Antiquarischen
Gesellschaft in Zurich," vol. x., p. 112, Zurich, 1854.
Be it as it may, the distinguished historian, Johannes
von Miiller, believed in its genuineness, and so did one of the
brightest geniuses of our days — the pride of his country —
Byron.42 Also Levade (Diet. Geogr. etStatistique du Can-
ton de Vaud), from whom I copied it, does not allude to
any doubt of the inscription not being genuine. But let us
yet compare a few recent discoveries of epitaphs, published
in the Supplement of the fifteenth volume of the Imperial
"Akademie der Wissenschaften," at Vienna, 1855, pp.
251 — 252; and which, in their pathetic composition,
though somewhat incorrect in the prosody of the verses,
and questionable in grammar, might be put in comparison
with that of Julia Alpinula. The one is in fifteen lines,
stating that the stone was erected by a girl of the name of
42 Byron was, however, not the first who alluded to the said
epitaph in poetry. I have met with these beautiful lines, written
before his time, and signed Bridel.
" Ci git dans son printemps la fille d'Alpinus :
Pour te sauver mes voeux ont ete superflus.
O mon pere ! et je cours a ta voix qui m'appelle
Te suivre et te rejoindre en la nuit eternelle :
Je n'ai pu du destin de'sarmer les rigueurs :
Ton sort a faitle mien, tu peris et je meurs."
116 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Fabricia Marcilla, daughter of one L. Fabricius, a retired
soldier (miles evocatus), to her dear mother, Veiana Hospita,
who died at the age of forty-five ; and likewise of a brother,
who fell in battle, twenty-eight years of age. The personal
indications (names of the persons) are above the verses, of
which, unfortunately, only four lines are preserved.
FELIX.TERRA.PRECOR-LEVITER-SVPER'OSSA-RESIDAS.
MATRIS-ET-FRATRIS-COMPRECOR-ECCE-SOROR.
PARS-IACET-IPSA-MErMATER.GEMINATQVE-DOLOREM.
(c6)MPRECOR-VT-VOBIS-Slf-PIA-TERRA-LEVIS.
Blessed earth, I, as a sister, pray, rest lightly on my mother's
and my brother's bones.
My mother, a very part of myself, lies buried there, and doubles
all my grief.
I pray that the pious earth may lie lightly on you both.
The other one was found in 1852, at the Villa Codini,
within Porta S. Sebastiano, at Rome, in a Columbarium,
and was copied at the same time by the Austrian coun-
cillor, the Chevalier de Heufler, and sent to the Academy
at Vienna. The inscription is in the possession of Signor
Pietro Cerasi, at Rome. It refers to a woman who had
lost her brother, her husband, and an infant son. She
challenges any one who might be mourning, to a com-
parison with grief like hers. Here the names of the persons
follow the verses.
CONIVGE.SLQVA.CARET.FRATREMQVE.MISERRIMA,
SI.QVA.
FLET.RAPTVM.ET.NATVM.PERDIDIT.A.GREMIO
HVNC.TITVLVM.ASPICIAT.FVNVS.NON.QVAERET.IN.
ISTO.
QVO.DOLET.ET.FLEBIT.TOT.MEA.DAMNA.MAGIS.
If any one has lost her husband, and if any most unhappy
being is weeping for her brother, taken from her, and has lost
the child of her bosom, let her behold this inscription ; she will
not seek a monument for him whom she laments ; she will rather
weep for my many losses.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 117
Lord Byron, speaking of that inscription of Avenches,
says, " I know of no human composition so affecting as
this, nor a history of deeper interest." Now, in my humble
judgment, I often fancied, that those few lines in prose
were enough to reconcile the most ardent enemies of the
great poet; and if not, let them wish in vain, " but for one
hour of Byron."43
Nearly eighteen centuries have passed away, since the
origin of this tale has been again so beautifully alluded to.
Oh ! sweet and sacred be the name !
Julia, the daughter, the devoted, gave
Her youth to heaven ; her heart, beneath a claim
Nearest to heaven's, broke o'er a father's grave.
Justice is sworn against tears, and hers would crave
The life she lived in ; but the judge was just,44
And then she died on him she could not save.
Their tomb was simple, and without a bust,
And held within their urn, one mind, one heart, one dust.
Of Byron, sometimes mention is made as to his being an
enthusiast,45 and whimsical,46 alluding to his having imitated
Leander.
Well, Byron verified, in 1810, the story of Ovid, by
swimming over the Hellespont. But who can say that
Byron was not under the same inspiration that animated
Leander, particularly as he had no commentaries to hold
above his head, like Caesar ? Can it be imagined, that his
43 He died at Missolonghi, on the 19th April, 1824, at the
age of thirty seven.
" My native land, good night ! "
44 Here, it appears, Lord Byron did not consult historical
facts ; else he would have said, that the judge was unjust.
45 The sense of this word among the Greeks, Entheos, sig-
nified " God in us " (inspiration).
Sir Walter gives enthusiastic features to a Highlander (Mon-
trose, cap. iv.)
46 Richelieu fancied himself beau garqon, a gallant, a wit, and
a poet.
VOL. XIX. R
118 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
lordship, at the age of twenty-three, and of whom also it
might be said, that he was " le seul poete, contemporain
qui ait eu la figure de son genie," having accomplished the
difficult task, that while stepping on shore, he was received
by an old woman, holding in one hand a basin of water-
gruel, and with the other a stick of barley-sugar, reciting
the following lines of Gothe's Iphigenia.
acf) mid? trennt bag meet tton ben ©eliefcten,
Unb an ben Ufer ftefy'irf) lange £age,
Unb gegen nietne <Seufger fcringt bte 2BeIfe
•DRur bumpfe $6ne fcraufenb mtr tyerufcer.
Many years ago, when I beheld the coffin of Juliet
Capuletti in a garden at Verona, I also exclaimed "Ecco il
luogo ! Ecco 1'urna!" One of Albion's fair daughters, of
whom many would not have hesitated to say "Natura la
fece, e poi ruppe la stampa," who stood near, observed how
obliged she would be to me if I could procure for her a
small fragment of that coffin, to have it set in a brooch.
This was, however, easier said than done, although the coffin,
the authenticity of which I certainly should not like to
defend, was not much unlike a baker's kneading-trough,
made of the Veronese marble, without the slightest orna-
ment or inscription, and appeared to have been already
much knocked about.46 Of course, the first thing I did,
was to address myself to the gardener's daughter, who
showed the coffin, in the way Ulysses addressed himself to
Nausikaa, daughter of Alkinoos, namely, how happy her
father must be, possessing such a handsome daughter [she
smiled], and that I hoped her lot in life would be happier
46 Makes one think of the stone coffin of Princess Joan, wife
of Llewelyn of Aber, in the great park near Beaumaris in Wales,
which served for a long time as a horse-trough. About thirty
years ago, Sir R. Bulkely ordered it to be placed in a grotto in
the park, and had an inscription put on it by which we should
learn the invalidity and transitoriness of all human affairs.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 119
than that of poor Giulietta. The lady had come purposely
from England to see this coffin, and how pleased she would
be to possess only a small bit of it to be set in a brooch-
Our cicerone made a sign of dissent, saying something
like, "How could I make such a request?" and whether I was
dreaming? I thought to myself,
$faubern fonnen fte, geten nicfyt
4?aben fcfyon SWancfyen fcettogen (dreams of course)
9lecfen imb qucilen unb — greift Sljr bann ju —
<£ut! — jtnb fte bli£fcfmetl entflogen.4?
However, to show to the sylvan beauty that I was wide
awake, I pulled out a number of zwanzigers, and bang! off
flew a little chip of the coffin, which I had the pleasure to
present to the lady, who might have been twenty-five years
of age. L'age de la perfection des fernmes. Toutes les
statues grecques ont vingt-cinq ans. Helen was twenty-five
years old when she was taken away by Paris.
Sometimes there is even cheerfulness observed on sepul-
chral monuments found at Aventicum; for instance, "They
lived as we do; we shall die like them: thus do men drive
each other through the world. Go passenger, and mind thy
business." Thousands of travellers pass yearly through
Avenche, on their way from Berne to Lausanne, but how
few may ever have stopped at that interesting spot, which
(in Switzerland) can afford to the antiquary, and the man of
taste, some opportunity of forming conclusions as to the
state of the people who occupied that country, at a period
so long prior to modern civilisation. At Payerne, yes, the
*? $rau, treue £rtne, ttuglid) tritBen £rciumen nid;t,
$rei6' tro£ig trium^irenb fort ba§ totte Sraumgeftcfyt,
Srocfne bie £f)rane tragifcfyen £ritfcfal8 tropfelnb auf,
Jrtnl trauten $vaut>eutranfe§ $vofttvo£ien b'rauf!
SPRUCH DES GROSZEN CARADANZEKOS,
120 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
travellers generally stop, though little food for the mind, yet
plenty for the body.
Varii son degli uomini i capricci,
A chi piace la torta, a chi, pasticci.
How few have taken the trouble to inspect the antiquities
at the upper town of Nion (time of Caesar and Augustus).
At Martigny are likewise to be seen many fine and interest-
ing specimens of sculpture of that period, as well as the
remains of a Roman amphitheatre, generally called the
Bishop's fish-pond.
The Emperor Vespasian was very favourably disposed
towards Aventicum ; his father, Titus Flavius Sabinus, who
had been a receiver of taxes in Asia, and had retired to
Aventicum where he carried on a profitable traffic, [a kind of
bank], and where he also died, after having passed a great
part of his life there.48
Vespasian strengthened and also enlarged this, his favorite
city of Aventicum by a colony of veterans, which then
obtained the name of Colonia Pia Flavia He established
also a college of physicians, and other public seminaries.
According to an inscription, the stones for building purposes
were brought over the lake from Neuchatel (Welsch-
Neuburg, Novum Castrum), the Romanised Noidenolex
Aventicus, as belonging to the Province of Avenche,49 and
which is evidently the Celtic Nvvid-din-Lech, of the
Sequani, namely the New-castle, the Newtown, situated on
a rocky tract50 (in Maxima Sequanorum), as united with the
48 Sueton in Vespas, cap. i.
49 A Roman road passed' from Noidenolex over places of the
names of Campulus, Mons-Beli (Belmont), to Petenisca (Petinesca,
Rutti near Buren).
50 Le territoire autour de Neuchatel est tout de rocher et de
pierre dure, et le pays est couvert en partie de bois, et en partie
de vignes. It suffered much in the beginning of the reign of
Honorius from the Alemanni, about A.D. 397, and was entirely
destroyed by the Huns, about 451 — 453.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 121
Helvetii in one province, and of which province, Vesontio
(Besan9on)51 became the capital probably in the time of
Diocletian. From this change arose also at a later period,
the origin of the jurisdiction which the Bishop of Besan9on,
as a metropolitan bishop, exercised over the Bishops of
Basle and Lausanne.
As Aventicum was a principal place of the Helvetic
district for important meetings, it was on that account
sometimes also called Civitas Helvetiorum.
The Emperor Titus, according to an inscription, com-
pleted all the buildings his father, Vespasian, had com-
menced at Aventicum.52
IMP. C^SAR. VESPAS. AVG.
LAPIDTBUS. NOIDENOLICE. MVLTO. LABORS.
TRACTIS. AVENTICI. MCENIA. INSTAVRATA.
TIT. VESPASIANI. AVG. FIL. DEDICAVIT.
The colony of Aventicum, as well as the town, like the
rest of Helvetia, was then under the exclusive authority of
the prefect of Gallia-Lugdunensis. In Trajan's time it was
comprised in the province of Maxima-Sequanorum.
Tacitus, Hist. i. 68, calls it the great capital of the Helvetii,
which were a branch of the great Celtic nation. Cicero, in
his speech, "de provinciis consularibus," delivered in the third
year of the Gallic war, about B.C. 55, observes, that Caesar
not alone contented himself with a valorous defence against
the Gauls, but that he also carried the war into their country,
to subjugate them to the Romans, and that he had already
given battle to some of the greatest and most courageous
of those nations. " Cum acerrimis nationibus et maximis
Germanorum et Helvetiorum."53
61 Besancon was also taken by Attila in 451.
52 Lavade, in his Diet. Ge'ographique du Canton de Vaud, gives
a great many inscriptions found at Aventicum.
53 A. Holtzmann Kelten and Germanen. Stuttgart, 1855, p. 37.
122 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The etymology of the name of Aventicum is thoroughly
Celtic, and indicates its position near a lake, as well as
a river. Almost all the large rivers in Europe, have the
sounds Avan51 (Old-Brit. Water}, Avon, Uisk, Wye, Tau,
Dur, Aa, Ac, Ag, Ach ; either in the beginning, like Duro-
corturum, Durance, Avan9on, etc. ; or, at the end of their
names, as in Bojodurum, Aberdour, Dulciac, Sligeach
(Sligo, in Ireland), though often much disguised in the
inflections, by Greek and Roman writers, according to the
many different dialects of this language, diffused over all
the European nations of the west and north. I remember
to have met with the observation, that the Irish spoken by a
Munster man, is scarcely intelligible to a Connaught man.
Hence the name of Aventiac is composed of the Celtic
Avon,55 Avan-iiise (in Gothic, ahwa), water and tin,56 habi-
tation, town ; and again terminating by ac, water : that is
to say, the town situated on a lake, as well as river.57 For
our purpose, other examples may be given, as in Aveniacum,
on the Marne ; the Avanticorum of the Avantici, in Gallia-
Narbonensis, near the river Vancon. Further, we have
Avenio (Avignon), Avidonacum (Aunay), the rivers Avon
and Avon-dale (Oundle), in Northamptonshire ; Avon-Dhu
(the river Forth) ; Avonmore, i.e., the great river, near
Lismore, in Ireland. Aven-bach, we have in Wiirtemberg.
Aweland, Aland (Waterland). In Wales, we have Avon-
5* Reminds one also of the name of the river Abana. at
Damascus.
65 Avon is the name of the river at Bristol. In Scotland,
rivers are frequently called only water. A Glasgow man says he
is going down the water, meaning the Frith of the Clyde. There
is also the Dour- water.
56 Baal-tien, the house of Baal, a ruin near Killa, in Ireland.
5? Ravenna (Ar-avena), which, according to Strabo i., p. 213,
was situated in the midst of a number of marshes, and built en-
tirely on wooden piles, and crossed on little bridges.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 123
y-Llan, Avon-Gwawr — this river runs into the lake of
Bala — and the fierce mountain torrent Avon-Twrch, which
falls from the rugged and wild summit of Mount Aran.
An old chronicle of the Pays de Vaud, however, settles
the matter in an easier way, by deriving the name of
Aventicum from Aventia, a fair damsel at the court of King
Helvetius.
The Itinerary of Antoninus gives the following stations
to Milan. Aventicum, Minodunum, Bromago (Promasens
Viromagus), Vibisco (Vevey), Octodurus (Martigny), Sum-
mo Pennino (Great St. Bernard), Augusta Praetoria (Aosta),
Vitricio (Verrez), Eporedia (Yvrea), Vercellas, Novaria,
and Mediolanum.
The most conspicuous public buildings of the epoch of
Vespasian, of which one still sees the ruins at Aventicum,
are the temple of Neptune and Apollo,58 and the remains of
an amphitheatre, over which the grass is grown ; and
which, in preservation, is perhaps not much better, if I
remember well, than the one at Cirencester.59 Not far
from the amphitheatre, stands in a meadow (as at Samos),
a pillar of the Corinthian order, thirty-seven feet high. It
has been called Le Cigognier, from tire nest of a stork
upon it, for many years.
58 NVMINIB AVG
ET GENIO COL. HEL
APOLLINI SACK.
Q POSTVM HVGINVS
ET POSTVM HERMES LIB.
MED [:icis:] ET PROFESS
D. S. D.
Of this inscription, explanations are given by M. Bochat, Hist.
Ancienne de la Suisse, vol. ii., p. 380, 381.
59 Illustrations of the remains of Roman art at Cirencester
(Corinium), by Professor Bukman. London, 1850, pi. i.
124 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The plough passes over sculptures, altars, tombs, mosaic
pavements,60 and immense walls.
Ijemmt ben QlcferSmann bte $ferbe ?
egen ftetyt unb florft fetn $flug?
@r nwnbert ficfy, fhcfyt in bie (Srbe,
Unb ftnbet etnen Sobenfntg ;
5)cn nritft er f)in — al3 er jetfcrocfyem
SRuft etne tyo^le <Stimm' int §elb,
93erf$one meiner fliller ^noc^en,
3d? Bin ein alter CRometljelb.
Or, as Virgil says,
Grandiaque effosis mirabitur ossa sepulchris.
Everywhere are traces of ancient grandeur. The original
pavement is, in general, ten feet under ground, and the
coins found there, are from Augustus to Constantine.
However, traces of remains in architecture, or in sculp-
ture of religious worship of the anti-Roman period in
Switzerland, have mostly disappeared, except in the nume-
rous sepulchres, and in the type of Celtic coins. I may,
perhaps, yet mention the well known, so called Pierre aux
Dames (aux Demoiselles), near Geneva, attributed to
Druidical rites.
In days of old, the vessels of Lacus Aventicensis
anchored beneath the walls of Aventicum, now about three
miles to the east of the town. During the last century,
strong iron rings have yet been seen on those walls, for the
purpose, as it appeared, of fastening the vessels and barges
which were in port. Now, all that part of the lake is dried
up, as far as Morat (Lacus Muratensis), which circumstance
reminds one almost of the name of the Lake Mareotis —
Mariout, in Egypt, now an extensive plain, with dark
shrubs and pasturage — camel browsing-ground.
60 A description of different mosaic pavements is given by
Levade, Diet. Geograph., etc., du Canton de Vaud, pp.24, 25.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 125
Tigurini are mentioned as inhabiting the districts (Pagi)
of Moratum and Aventicum.61 In later times, the lake of
Aventicum, reaching now only as far the small town of
Morat (Curtis Moratum), changed its name to that of Lacus
Moratum, Muratum, Muratensis, Murten-See (A.D. 932),
and Lac de Morat, which is evidently the Celtic Mor-i-dun,
that is to say, the hill of defence on the lake, and not unlike
Dunmore, on the west coast of Ireland. Muir-gearr means
close to the sea ; mor, mer, merlach, marise, marais, mo-
rast. There is likewise a Moradunum ad Ruram, which
is the town of Werden, on the river Rhur ; and the ancient
name of Merges (Morsee), on the shore of the lake of
Geneva, was Mor-i-ac, Moriacum ; and that of the village
ofMeyri, was Meir-i-acum. In Mar-i-dun, we have also
the town of Caermarthen62, one of the fine bays on the west
coast of Wales ; and in Scotland, is a Muirtown, situated,
I believe, on Loch-Ness (Mor-ben and Penhryn for pro-
montory). Marobudunum, is the old name of the town of
Prague ; and Agedunum (Gallia Aquit. Prima), the town
of Ahun, on the river of that name : all of them derived from
the same root.
Ammianus Marcellinus, A.D.355 — 390, mentions Aven-
ticum as a town that had much suffered, and that its ruins
attest its ancient splendour. He says, " Aventicum, deser-
tam quidem civitatem, sed non ignobilem quondam, ut
sedificia semiruta nunc quoque demonstrant " (xv. 11, ed
1693). It appears, that about that time, as well as towards
the middle of the fifth century, attempts were occasionally
61 Professor Thed. Mommsen, in his learned treatise on
Switzerland during the Roman period : "Die Schweitz in
romischer Zeit," Zurich, 1854.
62 Caer -mar-dun : Caer, as well as Dun, a castle, a town.
Caer-leon, Chester.
VOL. XIX. S
126 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
made to repair and rebuild at Aventicum, perhaps by order
of the Emperor Constantius Gallus ; but, Attila having
defeated the Burgundian king, Gundicar, at Rauracum,
in A.D. 447, it is stated that the ravages of his hordes exten-
ded also as far as Aventicum. In A.D. 476, we hear yet of
the Alemanni having been in that neighbourhood.
Of a later period, some historians mention, that in
A.D. 607, a count Vivilo, or Willi (Gulielmus ?), of little
Burgundy, built there a strong castle, and houses around ;
and, hence, Aventicum was called Willisburg, which town,
now-a-days, the neighbouring German population actually
call Wilflisburg. If so, then the name may, perhaps, refer
to the Guelfs, Welfs. Williburg, we find as a family name
in the tenth century, about that neighbourhood.63 We may
yet add, that in the time of Burchardt, Bishop of Lausanne
(who was killed in battle, A.D. 1088, in the service of the
Emperor Henry IV., against his opponent, Egbert, Count
of Thuringia), the present Avenche was built on and from
the ruins of the ancient town of Aventicum. By Gottfridus,
of Viterbo, it was called Avenza, " nomen Avenza fuit ; n6*
and in local documents of the twelfth century, again Aven-
ticha. In 1473, we find it called Avanchiacum.
The time at which Aventicum received the first sensible
blow to its prosperity, was A.D. 254 — 260, by an invasion
of the Alemanni. Gibbon (cap. 10) agrees to that period
(A.D. 254) ; stating, that the Franks and Alemanni devastated,
in the most cruel manner, that part of Gaul to which
Helvetia belonged. Another devastation, it appears,
occurred in the time of Diocletian, about A.D. 294. Then,
again, under Magnentius, 350 — 352, by Alemanni and
63 Job. von Miiller, I., p. 269.
64 Gottfridus Tioneosus, Chron. Univers. He was bishop of
Viterbo, from 1184 to 1191.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 127
Burgundians, which Gothofredus Viterbensis, in Chron.,
calls Suevi : u Marte Suevorum periit primatus eoruni "
(Aventicensium). Further calamities are noticed in A.D.
375; and the last ravages mentioned are in the time
of Honorius, 395 - 423. When, in A.D. 407, the last
hour of the Roman power on the Rhine had struck, then
the Alemanni made again irruptions into Switzerland,
and took possession of the northern and western parts.
Swo n enemies of the Roman name, they also hated and
destroyed all which preserved the memory of Roman
civilisation. It is striking to observe, that in Switzer-
land, and also in England, scarcely any ancient family
claimed a Roman descent. In France and Belgium, it
appears different. M. Victor Hugo (Le Rhin) finds at
Namur, a certain Janus, boulanger ; at the faubourg St.
Denis, Nero, confiseur ; at Aries, even on the pediment of
the ruins of a Roman temple, Marius, coiffeur. A few
years afterwards, the Burgundians, in like manner, took
possession of Western Switzerland. In England, it was
the same. The state of the Roman buildings generally in-
dicate the ravages of fire, and present devastation and
sudden abandonment. The Northmen joined with the
native British, trampled down the luxury and arts which
the Romans had bequeathed to them.
However, Ammianus Marcellinus, who had travelled
through almost all parts of Switzerland, had already, as
mentioned before, seen Aventicum deserted, and its build-
ings half destroyed. " Aedificia semiruta," and " desertam
civitatem." Hence, perhaps, also the name which the
Teutonic settlers gave to that country, calling it Ochtland,
Uchtland, and Od-land, in order to denote a deserted land ;
and the lake they called Uchtensee. Unti as late as the
fifteenth century, many parts of the country were still
described in public documents by the words " desertum,"
128 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
or the German Uechtland (die Uechtlandische Wuste) ; and
the Lacus Aventicensis is also mentioned as " Ucht-See."
On our road from Aventicum to Lausanne, we pass the
little old town of Moudon, the Roman Minodunum (Mini-
dunum), which is the Celtic Min-i-dun, namely, the town,
the settlement on the smooth, the lovely or pleasant hill ;
reminding one also of the Minariacum (Merville) in
Flanders, and the Mineriacum (Exeter) in England, as well
as Min-wye, the smooth, the gentle river. In Austria, we
have a Minnenbach ; and in Bavaria, the small river, the
Mintella (Miindel). Min, in Gaelic, means neat, pretty,
gentle : in Irish, smoothness : and min-vin, in Welsh,
means lip to lip, kissing : mi and min has also the meaning
for small (Mignon). Minidunum has actually changed into
the German " Milden," which indicates, also, the same as
mild, gracious (Milford-Haven). At the town hall of
Moudon, is built, into the wall the following interesting
Roman inscription.
PRO SALVTE DOMVS DIVIN
I. O. M. IVNON REGIN
ARAM . Q AEL . AV . . . NVS lITTiI . AVG
DE SVO ITEM DONAVID VICAN
MINNODVNENS . X . DCCL . EX
QVORVM VSSVR. GYMNA
S1VM INDERCI. TEMPOR
PER TRIDVM EISDEM
VICAN.DEDIT IN AEVM
QVOD SI IN ALIOS VSSVS
TRANSFER VOLVERINT
HANG PECUN INC COL AVEN,
TICCENSIVM DARI VOLO
L. D. D. V. M.
This inscription is thus read : —
Quintus Aelius Avienus, one of the six priests of Augustus,
has erected this altar, at his own expense, to Jupiter, the greatest
and best ; and to Juno, the queen of the gods, for the preserva-
tion of the imperial house. Likewise he has presented to the
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 129
citizens of Minodunum, the sum of 75,000 sesterces, the interest
of which is to be employed in forming a gymnasium, wherein
they (the citizens) during three days, at different times, may
hold gymnastic exercises: should, however, the community em-
ploy this sum for other purposes, in that case, he orders that
this money should devolve to the members of the colony of
Aventicum.65
To trace the words of different origin to their respective
sources, is a study of great interest. But who is infallible
in these matters, and in the discovery of the successive
meanings of words ? The greatest philologists sometimes
err therein.
The distinguished historian and archaeologist, Chevalier
Bunsen, in his late work, "Aegyptens Weltgeschichte,"
Gotha, 1856, vol. v., makes a suggestion very discouraging
to etymologists. He says, p. 48, " Etymological research,
and the comparison of words of different languages, ap-
pear in the history of the human mind, not unlike the
vessels of the ancients between Scylla and Charybdis.
Only the resignation and firmness of Odysseus, who had
himself bound to the mast, and his ears stopped,66 can
protect from the seduction of the Sirenian song of a simi-
larity in sounds, and of deceiving pictorial connections.
Because, it is certain, that he who yields to it, is lost ; and
will be, sooner or later, dashed against the cliffs of folly."
It is certainly true, that many men have a rock on which
they split ; but others, to avoid shipwreck, set to work and
split the rock. In fact, the pilot who sees a Scylla under
his bows, must not, for the time, think of the more distant
dangers of Charybdis.
With regard to the attempt at tracing the names of
primitive Keltic settlements, Latinised during so long a
65 Haller, Helvet. unter den Rbmern. ii., p. 240.
66 It appears to me, Odysseus got himself bound to the mast
for the purpose of hearing the song of the sirens.
130 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Roman domination, we have now a great help and security
in the (only of late) so successful study of the coins which
were struck by the different people of the great Keltic
nation, in England, France, Spain, and Germany. Those
coins we may consider as steamers, which may carry us
past the Charybdis and Scylla :67 I do not mean to say
without danger. But, only fancy Sir Charles Napier as
Odysseus, in the Wellington (131 guns), passing before those
renowned places ! what a broadside he would throw into
the monster, should she rise up to swallow some of his jolly
tars ! He might even splinter the very cliffs ; and, with
regard to the Sirenian song, those who have heard Madame
Pasta, and the Siren68 of Senigaglia, Catalani,69 the Semi-
ramis (Sammouramat) of songs, need not want any wax in
their ears.
67 Scopulus Scylla, Pliny 3, § 87. Skyll, still, in one of the
dialects of the Keltic language, means rock, and reminds one of
the wild shores of Ski-an-ack, in Scotland. Among the screw
steamers (corvettes), lately built by order of the Admiralty, is one
which bears the name of Scylla (21).
Navis et a picta casside nomen habet. — Ovid.
68 Siren is formed of the Phoenician word sir, song. Sutre, in
Irish, means sea-nymphs. Keating, in his ancient History of
Ireland, described the suire playing round the ships of the
Milesians, in their passage to Ireland. As a British female name,
we find it under Victi-sirana (Gruter, 700 — 6). . Under Victesis
and Vectis, occurs the name of the Isle of Wight.
" If thou (Roland Graeme) art won by the song of these sirens
(the maids of honour of Scotland's queen), to aid that unhappy
lady's escape from this place (the castle of Lochleven) of peni-
tence and security, it is over with the peace of Scotland's
cottages," etc. — The Abbot, cap. 25.
It is curious, that in Canton Uri, a myth is believed, that the
" Bull of Uri," which was white, as benefactor of his country,
vanquished the terrible monster, Surenen.
69 I have seen lately, in a paper, that the municipality of Pisa
has decided on erecting a monument, in the Campo Santo, to
Madame Catalani.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 131
Leibnitz has, with good reason, observed, that he consi-
dered the names of places as the most proper of all to
preserve the almost lost idioms, and as traces of the exis-
tence of past nations. And it is natural enough that a
place, a landscape, or country, cannot bear a borrowed
name of a language now estranged, without having received
it from a people who formerly spoke that language. But
no country can secure a language altogether from the inju-
ries of time, from the arbitrary power of fashion, and from
the common fate of all things. In our etymological re-
searches, of course, difficulties arise also from the use of
the different dialects of the language of the great Keltic
nation, which may be observed by and by in the many names
of the elements, of mountains, of rocks, fortifications, etc.
Here I may only say, by way of comparison, that it is long
acknowledged that the Dutch language and the Flemish
(vlaemsche tael] are one and the same in their origin.
In Belgium, the provisionary government of 1830 (Oct 5th),
ordered that the official Text of Government Decrees, should
be drawn up and published in the French language, because
"Les langues flamande et allemande, en usage parmi les
habitants de certains localites,varientde province a province,
quelquefois de district en district."
We may also observe, that the patois of the Roman part
of Helvetia contains yet remains of Keltic ; and so it like-
wise appears in all the Roman provinces of Gaul, where the
people have preserved a patois. In Savoy, the foreign inter-
mixture, it is said, has been small; the population being, in
the more mountainous parts, simply Roman-Keltic and then
more Keltic than Roman. In Spain, the Kelto-Iberian
aboriginal language continues to exist to the present day, in
the Basque dialect.
Until the fifth century, Switzerland was Keltic and Latin,
as France was; and, at that period, mixture partially began.
132 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The Latin language, though still partially preserved in
monasteries, rapidly declined everywhere else, and was
transformed into that sort of jargon, the patois which, on
account of its principal source, was called Langue Romane,
or Romance, of which the constituent elements were Keltic,
clipped and disfigured Latin, and partly Teutonic
introduced by the Prankish conquerors. This Romance
formed itself under a hundred gradations, from Sicily to
Switzerland, through Gallia, and to the other side of the
Pyrenees. We will take, for instance, the word beauty,
which is found in bautad, beutad, beltaz, belheza, belhaz,
beltad, beautaza, etc. The word sir, we have in seigner,
seigneur, senher, sengher, sen, ser, messer, mossen, mosser,
etc. The new Romance received, however, early in Italy
the denomination of Lingua Volgare. The Vaudois says,
" Proutsche le gro, et le 'rio, ne boute pa te n'otto."
[Build not thy dwelling near the great [the mansions of] nor
beside the torrent.]
The primitive inhabitants of the Pays de Vaud were
Kelts,70 who in a remote period were domiciled between the
Rhine and Maine arid the Hercynian forest.71 In the time of
Caesar, the Pays de Vaud was the abode of the Latobrigi.72
He says u Latobrigi ad Lacuna Lemanum, Allobrogum
etiam finitimi quippr- Rhodanus et Lacus Lemanus. Allo-
broges et Provinciam Romanam ab iis separant."73 And
also he says, that the Helvetii were separated by the Jura
from those people in Gaul called the Sequani (Burgundy
and Franche-comte). Helvetii continentur una ex parte,
flumine Rheno latissimo atque altissimo, qui agrum Helve-
tium & Germanis dividit, altera ex parte, monte Jura altis-
70 Tit. Liv. lib. xxi. cap. 30. Polyb. lib. iii. p. 189.
71 Tacit. Germ. cap. 28.
72 Strabo, i. 4, mentions also Nantuates.
73 Cses. de B. G., lib. i. c. i. ii. viii.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 133
si mo, quee est inter Sequanos et Helvetios tertia, lacu nos-
tram ab Helvetiis dividit. Without any historical trace of
a change in their situation, Tacitus mentions the Helvetii
more than a hundred years afterwards.
With regard to the origin of the name of the Pays de
Vaud, Vaux, Waat-land, Patria Vaudi, at a remote period,
A.D. 517, Pagus Valdensis, so mentioned in a donation of
land to the monastery of St. Maurice, by the Burgundian
king, Sigismund. Comitatus Valdensis, we have in A.D.
814, and in 839, Comitatus Waldensis usque mare Rhodani.
Rudolph III., the last of the Burgundian kings (second
race), was crowned at Lausanne, on which occasion he
.presented the Bishop Henry (A.D. 985 — 1019), with the
Comitatus Waldensis (Vaudois). The act is of A.D. 1011,
The land of Vaud was also called Pays Roman, it being
the last district of Helvetia in which the declining power
of Rome preserved a footing.
Now I venture to say, that at the invasion of the Burgun-
dians who had broken forth from their settlements between
the Oder and the Weser, and had overrun a great portion
of Gaul, Helvetia, Savoy, etc., as likewise the part of
Switzerland in question, they called the district, now the
Pays de Vaud, the country of the Walen7* (Gals, Gwals,
Whal, Walah, Gallia, Wallia). Just as other Teutonic tribes
after the fall of the Roman Empire did in other lands,
wherein the Keltic language, more or less Romanised, was
yet spoken analogous to the Walkish, Walish, and Weallas-
land, that is to say, land of the Gaels, taking the name of
Walhes, Waelsches, Waeches, Wallonnes, Gallons, Gauls of
Welsh-Flandres (Flandres-Gallicant), the Chur-Wallen,
t* At the time of Herodotus, Spain, Switzerland, the Tyrol,
and the country south of the Danube, were the seats of the
Keltic tribes.
VOL. XIX T
134 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Pagus Churwalaha (Canton Grissons), Welsh Tyrol, the
Volci of Italy, the Wallaches of Hungary, the Wlochi and
Gallicians (Galleika) of Poland and Spain. And so again
to the Gaelwalli, the Gael-dun-seis (Caledonians) of the hills
of Scotland/5 Ireland and Wales. [Pays de Galles] ; in old
French we have Prince de Gaulles.76 Inche Galle are still
called the Western Islands (Innis) of Scotland.
Many places in Switzerland and Germany may be men-
tioned to have sprung from those so called Welsche like
Walahischinga (Wilzingen near Zell on the Danube), Wa-
lapah (Wollbach in Baden), and so on, Walsdorf, Wallen-
dorf, Walhausen, Welschenhausen. In Switzerland (Canton
Turgau and Zurich), we have Wallenstadt, Wallensee,-
Walahwilare, Walasseldon, Wallenschwaden, etc. In Ba-
varia we have yet Walgengau, Walchensee, Walchenfluss,
Frauenwalchen and Strasswalchen. And in Wiirtemberg
Walahse, and Walohstetti, which have been transformed
into Waldstetten and Waldsee, and especially the old Walah
(Wal-a, a stranger, a traveller;77 Walisc, belonging to
strangers), being no longer understood, was changed into
Wolla and Wald (forest), as we have also observed before
the change from Weallasland into Pagus Waldensis.
After the Celtic Britons had taken refuge, about A.D.
950, in Wales, Cornwall (Corn-Weallas, Cornu-Gaules),
and Armorica, the Saxons, conformably to their language,
named them Walahise, Wilse, and Brit- Welsh. But all
this does not, of course, identify them as being all of the
same tribe, because each is called Welsh. However, all
'5 In the Highlands, Caeldock, an old camp, bears the name of
Fortingal, the fort of the strangers.
76 In a Swiss song of the fourteenth century, a duke is men-
tioned of the name of Ysso de Callis (Wales), who wore a gold
cap, and commanded a troop of English cavalry.
77 Walla, in Hindu, signifies man.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELbER. 135
these appellations are yet synonymous, even now-a-days, in
the language of Ireland, namely, equivalent to the word
Gaoillach, which means the Irish people. And so it was
with the word Gaul, abbreviated from Gaoidhiol (Gael).78
Caesar says, " ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra vero Galli
vocantur."
From the venerable remains of these topographical
names alone, may be traced the origin of nations. The
last and heaviest check which the Keltic language received,
was, that the Romish missionaries introduced, at the same
time with the new and truly blessed doctrine, the Latin
language in the celebration of divine service, and
banished thereout the others as profane. " We have only
three holy languages," is the saying in several monastic
writings of the middle ages ; u the Hebrew, the Greek, and
the Latin, because, in these languages, did Pilate fix on
the top of the cross, the words 'Jesus Nazarenus Rex
Judasorum.' " However, it may be proved, both from ancient
writers and older coins, that the Keltic language was yet
spoken by the lower orders in the provinces, after the
subversion of the Roman Empire, beyond the fifth century,
particularly in Noricum, Gallia-Mediterranea, parts of
Switzerland, and the North of Italy. And even now-a-days,
the mountaineer of Switzerland, and the Tyrol, sends his
son to Milan, to Gallia Cisalpina, to learn Walhisc
« Welsch."
?8 It is said, that the Irish language contains within it, the
radices of the • ancient Keltic, and the affinities can be better
traced in the Irish, than in any of the other existing branches
(for which see Zeus's " Grammatica Keltica ").
Stanishurst (de Rebus Hibern.) observes : " Omnes insulae
locos et lucos Wallici nominis gloria implevit." The renown of
the Welsh name hath filled all the ways and woods of the
island.
136 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
$lti lofet, wiener reelfcfye dja !
93erftoijt men au ne SBortti bra ?
There is also an expression used in the South of Ger-
man}', namely, that of K Chauderwelsch," which has the
meaning of gibberish, as likewise " Rotwalsch " (Rot,
vagrant; and Walsch, outlandish lingo), or "Gauner
Sprache."
In Italy, a great number of names of cities, villages,
castles, lakes, and rivers, may be traced to a primitive
Keltic origin. Quintillian (lib. i., Inst. Orat. c. 5) also states,
that among the words derived from other languages (in the
Latin), those from the Keltic are the most numerous.
By so long a Roman domination, those primitive names
of Keltic settlements (B.C. 593 79) had been gradually
Latinised. In some places, the memory of the former
domiciliation of the Kelts was remarkably preserved in
names, as in Sinigaglia, the old seat of the Gaels.
quia relictum
Gallorum a populis traxit per saecula nomen.80
The name of Senogallia, or Senegallia, (Sena Gallica)
seems to me to signify the old, or oldest, seat or settlement
of the Gaels or Gauls, in Umbria.
Sena, is a Gaelic word, and means, old ; seanois, great
age ; senathair, grandfather ; senaidh, old woman. Also,
the Druids appear under the name of Senan and Sene.81
One may likewise compare senex, senatus, etc. Further-
more, we have Forum Gallorum (Castel Franco), and
79 In the North of Europe, the establishment of the Keltic
States is beyond the reach of written annals. The traditions
and songs to which they trusted their history, were lost, or
altogether corrupted.
80 Silius, lib. xv.
81 Martin, Rel. des Gaulois, i., p. 178.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 137
Gallinaria Insula ;82 and here we are reminded of Incbe Galle
(the Hebrides). In the beginning of our era, the countries
inhabited by different branches of the great Keltic nation,
such as Kelt-Iberi, Kelto-Germani, Kelto-Skiti,83 Kelto-
Liguri, etc., comprehended, according to Dionysius Hali-
carnasseus (xv. 2), the fourth part of Europe.
I often questioned why the English did not rather adopt
the Italian name of Livorno (Liburini Portus) for Leghorn,
until I found that it is the original Keltic name "Llughorn,"
signifying a lantern, a lighthouse (Lucerne). Why should
Milan, founded by the Insubrian Gauls as their capital,
not be the Gaelic Midhe-lan (Mediolanum), an enclosure,
a town, situated in the midst of their territory, between the
rivers Ticino and Adda ? Midhe-ia Middleland : here the
Saxon utland, terra exterior.
At Carrara, we have the Irish car, caer, carren, stone,
rock. Car-eis, the quantity of rock, synonymous names
in Scotland ; and in Ireland, in Kerrera.84 In Brittany, we
have the great plain of Carnac, with its mighty Dracontium,
or serpent temple, the stony folds of which extended eight
miles.
But let us return again to Switzerland. Have we not
the famous Karren (Schratten) fields, as constituting one of
the rare features of Alpine regions ? These are vast sterile
fields of limestone rock, so rent and fretted by atmospheric
action, that they sometimes look like ploughed fields of
82 Capture of Rome by the Gauls, B.C. 390. Beginning of the
Gallic war, B.C. 225.
83 Strabo (Geogr. lib. ii.) says : " Veteres Graecorum scrip-
tores universas gentes septentrionales Scythes, et Kelto-scithas
appellarunt.
84 Carrick-a-Rede (the rock in the road), an isolated rock of
basalt, near the Giant's Causeway. Carrasca, in Spanish,
signifies stony.
138 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
stone, sometimes like endless rows of sharp ridges set close
together, etc. Travellers, hunters, and cowherds, avoid
them, on account of their dreariness and the difficulty of
walking over them: in fact, this Karren is a corroded
desert of rock, without a trace of any spring, or trickling
ice stream.
The Lake of Como, in Cisalpine Gaul, is formed by the
waters of the river Adda ; and uiore than one hundred and
ninety small brooks and rivulets empty themselves into it.
In the neighbouring Upper Rhaetia (Helvetii Gallica gens)
the lake is called " Legh-da-cum." Those of the lower
country, about Coire, call it " Cummer see." Cumar is a
Keltic word, and signifies a place where streams meet :
cumon, in Irish, means union.
Lago di Guarda, at the foot of the Alps, the Benacus of
Pliny, appears to me to have derived its name from the
Keltic Ben-loch (Ben-lacus, Benacus, Ben-ac), namely, the
lake surrounded (enclosed) by hills, the mountain lake ; a
comparison to Lacus Dunensis, in Switzerland.
In Wales, we have the famous rocky plateau " Ben-glog,"
from whence the waters of five lakes throw themselves, by
a magnificent waterfall, into a profound abyss. In Scotland,
we have a Benval.
The lower part is also enclosed by hills, the Colli
Benacesi. The agitation of the lake is mentioned in a
passage by Virgil.
teque
Fluctibus et fremitu surgens Benace marino.
This agitation is produced by violent hurricanes rushing
down from the ravines of the Alps into the lake. A torrent
has the name of Brasca. Here again, the Gaelic bras,
sudden, and the name of the most furious wind, which
gives the lake at times, as mentioned by Virgil, the terrific
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 139
appearance of a stormy sea (imita coll' acque dolci il mar),
is Sofero : sofar, sofaraith, in Gaelic, means strong.
Another powerful wind often blows from the side of
Lonado, called Andro. By Andas, in Etruscan, was meant
Boreas.
Andras was worshipped as a fury, or infernal divinity, by
the Gauls ; who, at last, paid extraordinary honours to the
winds, lakes, and mountains.
Augustus had created a temple for the wind Circius
(N.N.W.) of the Gauls, because they were incommoded
therewith, and had their houses blown down by it.
Even the present name of Lago di Guarda, appears to
approach to this suggestion. Garth, in Keltic, means
an inclosure, a yard; as we have it in Cunning-garth,
the king's camp; kirk- garth, churchyard; deer-garth,
deer-park. In Wales, we have it in gaer ; for instance,
in Moel-y-gaer, the hill of the camp ; and a magnificent
rock has the name of Maes-y-gaer. In Scotland, we have
the Gare-loch.
The greatest contribution to the Lago di Guarda, comes
from the river Mincius. The head of this lake is between
Monte Baldo (balach, in Irish, is a giant) and the moun-
tains of Brisano (breisan, in Celtic, signifies break, crack,
tear), which rise perpendicularly, with a rugged, broken
appearance, from Gorgona to Riva.
In the Alps of Switzerland, of the thirty-two different
named winds, the most conspicuous are the Foehn (south),
Typhon by the Egyptians (Ti-ube, the opponent, enemy) ;
" The blast that brought me hither now, did sweep Egyptian
ground ;85
The fiery cloud, on which I ride, for Araby is bound."
85 The Simoon (Simum), which blows near the Red Sea, raises
Fahrenheit's Thermometer from 110° to 130°.
140 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
and in Syria, as god of hurricanes and tempests, Ventus
Malignus.86 The Chinese have the word Ti-foon for great
wind. The Transmontanus, or North wind, is called by
the Swiss, the Bise. About the Lake of Geneva, the most
violent wind is the Vaudaire (Vulturnus ?), S.E, which
rushes out of the mountain gorge of the Valais.87 The
Foehn (Favonius88), sent over from Italy,89 is the most
treacherous: its strength is sometimes extraordinary, and
no wind in the Alps combines so many air-gushes and tor-
nadoes, and it is therefore much dreaded. Avalanches rush
down, open new paths, and crush every thing before them ;
glaciers fall, rocks slide down, and mountains fall ; and
then brooks, rivers, and lakes overflow, and all around is
desolation. It wrecks vessels and barges upon the lakes,
unroofs houses, and tears down trees.
In the high valleys of Uri and Glarus, according to an
ancient law, as long as the foehn blows, no light, no fire,
either in the stove or on the hearth, is allowed, on account
of the dangers of a conflagration.
86 Ovid places Typhon under Aetna.
87 Perhaps this may also occasion that atmospheric current,
on the Lake of Geneva, called " Seiches."
88 Favonius brought also to the Greeks, generally storm and
rain (Horn. Od., xii. 289, xiv. 259). Other names of the princi-
pal winds of the ancients, we have in Auster, Aquilo, Corus,
Vulturnus, etc. Achilles implores Boreas (Etesios) and Zephyros,
and promises them pompous sacrifices, if they will awake the
flame of the funeral pile of Patroclus (II. xxiii. 105). The men-
tion of a temple to the winds, illustrates a distich in Ovid.
" Te quoque, Tempestas, meritam delubra fatemur,
Cum poene est Corsis obruta classis aquis."
L e., We confess that thou, goddess of the storm, deservest a
temple, since the fleet has nearly been overwhelmed in the waters
of Corsica.
89 In the Mediterranean, the English sailors call this sort of
hurricane, a " levanter."
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 141
fid; bev 5"oef)n ertjefct au8 feinen
£i>fcf)t man bie ^euer au3, tie @cfyiffe fucfyen
CrtlenbS ben <§afen, unb ber macfyt'ge ©eijl/
©efyt ofyne (Scfcaben fyutloS iifcer bie (Srbe.
Often the sky is serene, with the exception of the Foehn-
cloud (Foehnwolke), which, according to the expression of
the Alpine people, " hangs on the top of a high mountain,
lurking like an evil spirit, ready to precipitate itself into
the valley." In Ossian, we find that, "The angry ghost
moves before the clouds; the dark winds are in his hand;
they begin to rise, and the dark wave of the lake resounds."90
Fingal's first love,Agandecca, departed, in his dream, on the
winds of Lena. Also the Psalmist sings, "Thou, Lord,
makest the clouds thy chariot, and walkest upon the wings
of the wind." In Tyrol, the Foehn was worshipped under
the name of Fonion, as a deity which caused destruction and
war,91 probably from the aboriginal German, Fona, fire, in
the signification of wind and fire, that is to say, the heated
wind (Favonius),
As the Romans established their laws in all the conquered
countries of the Kelts, and rewarded with the privileges of
Roman citizens and the toga, at first, perhaps, only some
serviceable persons and towns, but afterwards entire pro-
vinces, so also many of the Britons in the time of Agricola,
exchanged the garb of their fathers for the dignified toga.
In like manner the Latin language introduced itself
into all courts of justice, and all public transactions,
whereby the language of the country lost its estimation.
being only considered as that spoken by the populace, and
at last became removed within the Glens of the Pyrenees,
90 A sailor who is quick in what he does, is said to be " as
active as the devil in a gale of wind."
91 Hormeyr. Geschichte Tyrols. i. p. 52.
VOL. XIX. U
142 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
the Highlands of Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Basse-
Bretagne. It appears that even Livy, lib. v. c. 33, observes
that the Rhseti did not escape from having their language
corrupted. The Emperor Antoninus, A.D. 138 — 161, had
ordered that the Gauls should chaunt their hymns at their
sacrifices in the Latin language. A similar reason must be
given for the disappearance of the Etruscan language in
Italy, and in other countries, conquered by the Romans.
One would suppose that St. Callus and St. Columbanus
could have addressed the Helvetii in no other language but
the Keltic. Of the Gallo-Greeks (Galatians), St. Jerome
observes, that in his time (fifth century), they spoke nearly
the same language as that spoken at. Treves, by the Kymro-
Belgae. "Unum est quod inferimus, etpromissum in exor-
dio reddimus, Galatas excepto sermone Graeco, quo omnis
Oriens loquitur, propriam linguam eandem pene habere
quam Treviros (St. Jerom. Comment, lib. ii., in epistolarum
ad Galatas, cap. iii.). According to Giraldus in the Itinera-
rium Cambricum, p. 848, a chief ecclesiastic, near Haverford,
proclaimed the word of God to the heathen assembly, in the
Gaelic and Latin languages.
On the borders of the lake of Geneva, particularly in the
environs of Lausanne, several Keltic burying-grounds have
been discovered, and already some hundred graves have
been opened. They appear to have been partly hewn in the
rock, and partly dug out, and then mostly lined and covered
over with slabs of stone, brought, apparently, from the
opposite, or Savoy side of the Lake. Sometimes these
graves contain several layers of skeletons, belonging to
different periods; and it is mostly in the lower or oldest
layers that urns occur with the skeletons; however, in all
the different layers, objects of bronae are often found,
and others of iron with fine inlaid work.
The stone coffins found in the cairns, barrows of the
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 143
Highlands in Scotland, are likewise made of flag-stones set
on edge, with another by way of cover.
It happened during the summer of 1842, while inspecting
one day the coins of the Cantonal library of Lausanne, that
I had the pleasure to become acquainted with M. Frederic
Troyon, proprietor of an estate called Belair, situated a
few miles above Lausanne, on which place many Keltic
sepulchres had been discovered by him only a short time
before. M. Troyon had the goodness to invite the librarian
and myself to inspect some of these tombs, and, at the same
time, the interesting and valuable museum he had formed of
the great varieties of objects found therein. Because in
those days, the pious and liberal hand deposited with the
beloved dead in the earth often fine and valuable things,
and considered nothing too dear to gladden the defunct in
the other world.
s£ringet fyer bie Ie|ten ©aben,
•Stimmt bie Sobtenflag'!
fei nut ifym tegrafcen -
il)u freiten mag.
ifjm iinterS <§au£t bte SBetU
ie er tajjfer fcfytcang,
beS 23aren fette ^eule,
£>enu ber 2Beg ift lang.
But, now-a-days, too many already contend for the pro-
perty, at the death-bed of him who is about to quit this
world ; and, although they give him a winding-sheet, that
he may not seem utterly neglected, yet take care to bury
with him nothing that could, in future, expose his remains
to the violation of antiquarians ; — following, hereby,
Lycurgus, who suffered nothing to be buried with the
corpse, except the red cloth and the olive leaves in which
it was wrapped. I may, however, observe, that in the
144 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Chronicles of Erin, no mention is made with regard to
placing any other thing with the dead than the shroud.
a Awhile, the weight of Ith was borne to the land, and
laid within the wrapper ; the fires were lighted, the circle
was formed, the night-watch set ; and, on the morrow, it
was moved to the place where his heap was to be raised.
And Ardac, and I, raised the death-song ;y2 and the bards,
and the matrons and damsels, and the harps, poured forth
their voices to the praise of Ith. And the stones were
rolled to the entrance of the house of darkness."
The careful and correct manner in which these antiqui-
ties were displayed by M. Troyon, shewed an erudite
knowledge of archaeology.
The removing of the lid of one of those graves, where
lay " the mighty bones of ancient men," had disturbed a
large toad, which crawled about in all directions round the
skeleton. It was a sight not easy to be forgotten ; and we
were pretty well tempted to muse on the vanity of human
hopes in this world, and draw a mournful lesson from this
tomb of Keltic barbarism. No inscription or tombstone has
yet been discovered, and, perhaps, it is just as well ; for if
some men of our days could come out of their sepulchres,
and read the inscriptions on their tombstones, they would
think they had been placed in the wrong grave.
Some of the Menhirs (men-hir, stone long) may have
marked the resting places of eminent chiefs.
By Ossian, one may support the opinion, that lofty grey
. stones were placed over the tombs of chiefs. " Our eyes
are full of tears on the fields of the warrior. This stone,
with all its moss, shall speak of other years." And again :
92 Lamentation for the dead is called, by the Irish, keenning ;
and in the Highlands of Scotland, they sing the coronach for the
dead.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 145
" A stone was raised on high to speak of future times, with
its grey head of moss." In the lamentation of Fingal's
death, we hear of " Six grey stones mark the green
mound, where sleep the heroes in dust."
Lycurgus would not suffer the relations to inscribe any
names upon the tombs, except of those men who fell in
battle, or of those women who died in some sacred office.
And, in fact, the legends on most tombstones of remote
periods are inscribed with names utterly unknown, and form
a certain type of the uncertainty of fame.
Now, in some parts of the Highlands of Scotland, it was
the custom, in days of old, to pile over the stone coffin,
kist, or chest, of a distinguished man, chieftain, or famous
bard, the cairn, or heap of stones (tuaim, tumulus}?*
Cairns are still to be seen on the banks of the Brahan ; and
there is still a proverbial expression in the Highlands to
this day : " Curri mi cloch er do charne," i. e., I shall add a
stone to your cairn ; that is to say, " 1 shall do your memory
all the honour in my power when you are no more."
Ossian wishes that the bards should prepare his tomb,
and lay him to the fair Evir-allen. It seems that the
Romans, in particular, wished to chain themselves by a
surviving mejnory on the world, in consequence of their
wavering view -of a future life.94
93 « Fuiierum nulla ambitio — sepulchrum cespes erigit." Tacit,
de Mor. Germ, xxvii. " It is a custom still preserved among the
Indians, to throw a stone or handful of earth upon the grave of
the distinguished dead, as a tribute to their memory. The more
these contributions, the higher the tumulus, which is thus
gradually accumulated. By the Siamese, the body of the dead
is carried in procession to some temple, where it is burnt. The
bones are collected and placed in an urn, which remains in the
family dwelling. The garb of mourning is white." — Siam ami
the Siamese, by Sir John Bowring. London, 1857.
94 Sylla is said to have been the first Roman whose body was
buried.
146 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The Kelt gave place to the Roman, the Roman to the
Ostrogoths (Wala-goth-ih) and Burgundians (Burgua-ih,
Burgii, Burgundiones) ; the Burgundians to the Franco-
Merovingians, whose king, Clothaire, chased them . from
the country of the Allobroges, A.D. 534.
All has disappeared, and every thing else has changed.
Even the kings of Egypt, says a French writer, " n'ont pas
ose graver sur leur pyramides toujours.95
The present Allobroges go to mass, " prisent du tabac de
contrebande, et beuvent Kirsch de la Foret Noire " ; and the
Veragri will soon be carried by the locomotive from the
vale of the Rhone, through the tunnel of Menouve (3£
kilometers long), under Mount St. Bernard to the Val
d'Osta. Some even suppose, that the lasses of the Salasi
in the vale of the Doria were formerly more tidy, more
active, and " moins goitreuses" than now-a-days.96 All this
is a strange contrast to the unchanging face of nature.
Bel-air is situated on the last undulating elevations of the
Jorat, and thence, fertile countries extend themselves over
hills and vales towards the bluish chain of the Jura, the
Mons-Jovis, Mont-Joux (here still the Celtic Jou for Jupi-
ter,97 hence also Di-jou, jeu-di, Jovis dies, Thursday). In
Brittany, Mont St. Michel, where the Sun (Belenus) was
worshipped, also changed its name into Mont-Jan, Mont
Jovis, where the Romans raised an altar to Jupiter. We
are also reminded of the lofty conical mountains of Jura,
in Scotland — of which two are named the Paps of Jura.
95 " Do you know," once said a Montmorency to a Basque,
"we date from a thousand years back!" " And we," replied
the Basque, "have left off counting ! " The borough of Mont-
morency was the ancient Mauroniacum.
96 According to the latest investigations in the Canton Valais,
there is one Cretin to every twenty-five inhabitants.
97 Reminds one of the French town of Jouarre (Jovis ara). .
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 147
A further prospect expands towards the extremity of the
Leman, with its towns, woods and elevations. Then the
Alps of Savoy, with Mont Blanc, dominating over the
horizon of a long range and heights of mountains.
ftefi flefyen bie Serge in ber fyittn SBogett;
2)en <5th>erfcfyeitel Beugt bii§ fitter ntcfyt.
The same hills arise, the same beautiful lake, the same
sky looks down, as when this was inhabited by the in-
dividual whose grave we had just opened. Although one
cannot help thinking, on such occasions, with sadness upon
the fleeting generations of mankind, a sort of gratification
arises in the mind from the recollection, that the priests of the
great Keltic nation thought the immortality of the soul a
recompense for virtue and a punishment for vice (Caesar
B.G. lib. vi.). Even the most learned of the Greeks
confessed themselves to have received the rudiments of all
sublime science from strangers, namely, from the priests of
the Kelts. And Socrates mentions to Axiochus, tables of
brass existing at Delos, which had inscriptions referring to
the immortality of the soul, and which tables had been
brought there by the Hyperboreans. When Abaris I. (i.e.
High Priest), a Hyperborean, was on his travels in Greece,
he collected everywhere gold, for the purpose of ornament-
ing the temple of Apollo in his native land, and, coming to
Agrigentum, he learned that Pythagoras was imprisoned
there by the tyrant Phalaris, on account of his doctrines.
Abaris defended him, and endeavoured to shake the resolu-
tion of the tyrant by the thought of a future life. The
Germans, under Ariovistus (Fragment of the Keltic Wars,
by Appian, Rom. Hist. lib. iv.), are praised for the trust
they put in reanimation after death, and Appian also
observes, that this confidence gave them encouragement to
run all hazards, and disregard death.
148 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
We were called away from the place of the dead to
some enjoyment of the living — namely, supper was an-
nounced.98 The father of M. Troyon had placed some old
Vin d'Yvorne on the table, and with a smiling countenance
invited us to partake of it. He was a tall handsome look-
ing elderly gentleman. I thought I never saw a finer
specimen of a man ; he appeared to me, while standing in
the midst of his family, like a patriarch of old ; I permitted
myself to give the following toast : —
,,2)ie ©rofjen laffen ftcfy tin Sobe balfamiren,
lint befto Icinger tob ju fein
SBir abet balfamiren un§ im Seben mit 28cin,
lint befto langer lebenbig ju fein."
Csesar tells us that, such men as those whose graves we
had just visited, drank out of the horns of the aurochs
(Ure-ox, Uri),99 and that on their greatest festivals they used
them as drinking cups. " In amplissimis epulis pro poculis
utuntur " (D. Bell. Gal. lib. vi. c. 29).
In A.D. 743, cornua and cochleae were prohibited ; but
when three crosses were painted upon them, in that case
the monks permitted their use. The English king, Wiglaf
98 I could not refrain from thinking of a passage in the For-
tunes of Nigel, when Monsieur le Chevalier Saint Priest de
Beaujeu says, " Qu'est ce que nous avons a faire avec le temps
pass6 ? — the time passed did belong to our fathers — our ancetres
— the time present is to us — they have their pretty tombs, with
their memories and armorials all in brass and marble — we have
the petits plats exquis, and the soupe-a-chevalier, which I will
cause to mount up immediately."
99 " Uri enim Gallica vox est, qua feri boves significantur "
(Macrob. Saturnal. lib. vi. c. 4, p. 484, Lugduni, 1584). It ap-
pears that the Uri existed in Scotland, a skull of that animal
was dug up at Moulin, and is still to be seen at the castle of Blair,
says Campbell, in his Journey through North Britain.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 149
(825 — 839), left his drinking horn to the monks, to drink
out of it, at great festivals, to his memory. In A.D. 787,
it was forbidden in Holcot (Northumberland), to celebrate
the Eucharist with horn cups. In the castle of the late
Lord Penrhyn, in Wales, there still exists the drinking horn,
called " hirlas," of the hero Piers Gryffyd. It consists of a
mighty ox-horn, and is mounted with silver, and suspended
by a massive silver chain. An old song says
" Fill the Hirlas Horn, my boy,
Nor let the tuneful lips be dry,100
That warble Owen's praise," etc.
It is singular, that no description of the eternal snow of
the Alps, when tinged in the morning or evening with a rosy
hue; of the beauty of the blue glacier ice, or of the gran-
deur of any part of the scenery of Switzerland, have reached
us from the ancients, although statesmen and generals, with
men of letters in their train, were constantly passing
through Helvetia into Gaul. All these travellers think only
of complaining of the badness of the roads ; the romantic
character of the country never seems to have engaged their
attention. It is even known, that Julius Caesar, when
returning to his legions in Gaul, employed his time, while
passing over the Alps, in preparing a grammatical treatise,
" De Analogia."
100 From the year 1801 to the year 1846, the people of
Great Britain and Ireland spent £800,000,000 on spirits;
£176,445,060, on wines; and £505,904,000, on malt liquor.
The duty on the above articles, during forty-five years, amounted
to £644,968,553. — Statistics on the Consumption, etc., of ardent
Spirits and Malt, in England, Scotland, and Ireland, from 1801 to
1846, by Dawson Burns.
How the heart of any true Briton must rejoice who may hap-
pen to read this. He may confidently exclaim, another triumph
gained ! We have done the famous beer-drinkers of Bavaria —
done them broivn!
VOL. XIX. X
150 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Silius Italicus, who died in the reign of Trajan, when
Switzerland was already in great measure cultivated,
describes the district of the Alps merely as an awful barren
wilderness, although he elsewhere loves to dwell in verse on
the rocky ravines of Italy, and the wood-fringed banks of
the Liris.101
Ammianus Marcellinus, who was still alive A.D. 390, and
who travelled through most parts of Switzerland in the
suite of Julian, whilst yet Caesar, is the first who gives
an account of the fall of the Rhine. He speaks also of
Aventicum, as a place at that time abandoned, but whose
former greatness might be justly inferred from the large
and extensive ruins that covered the site. Livy, speaking
of the Alps, says : " Nives coelo prope immistae, tecta in-
formia imposita rupibus, pecora jumentaque torrida frigore,
homines intonsi et inculti, animalia inanimaque omnia
rigentia gelu, omnia confragosa prseruptaque."
" In many places of the Alpine land," says Dr. Tschudi
(das Thierleben der Alpenwelt), " hollows or rocky vaults
are numerous; and in the interior of some of these rocky
dwellings, Roman and other ancient coins are found, as
signs, that in former times, they were used as dwellings or
hiding places."
Most of the oldest settlements about Lausanne, and on
the lake, testify by their etymology, a Keltic origin. With
regard to the name of Lausanne, I have formed the following
opinion. By the name of Lis, Leasa, Leos, Liys, Llys,
Laus, Luss, Luz (in the Pyrenees) and Loss,102 terms which
occur in Ireland, Wales, and elsewhere, is understood, an
earthen enclosure, a court, a palace, a house, strongly for-
101 Liri, in one of the various Keltic dialects, signifies river.
102 In the llhsetian and Proven9al dialects, Loss remained in
Leug and Leuc.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 151
tified. Let us mention places as Lisburne, Liscarrol, Lis-
keard, Lismore,103 Listowel. In Queen's County, there is
also a district called Leix, or Leas. In Wales, we have
Llys-Bradwen, the palace of Ednowain (Brawdwr-Llys
means a judge of the court). At Aix-la-Chapelle, we have
the Lausberg ; in Canton Turgau, Lausenbiichel ; and in
Canton Basle, we have Liestal, which was formerly impor-
tant by its strong situation in the Sisgau.
Others we have in Losheim, Losdorf, Lonsheim, Lusberg,
and Losberg (in Wurtemberg). Hence this Lis or Lios,
occurs as a high artificial entrenchment, surrounded and
defended by outworks ; it may also be considered nearly
synonymous with Dun. The difference seems to be in the
situation (artificial) ; and so, Lios-suna, Laosuna,Losonna,104
signify the fortified town, where the sun, as at Geneva, was
worshipped. It appears, also, that in the time of Caesar, a
fortified Keltic Dun, Lios-dun,105 Lausodunum, existed
already, situated on one of the slopes of Mont-jorat, and
probably where the castle of Lausanne now stands.
The name of Lios-dun, or Losdun, may then be also, in
some respects, compared to places where Castel is annexed
to Dun, as we have it in Casteldun, Dunnis Castello, Duno-
Castro (Chateaudun), etc. We may also mention the Allo-
brogian town of Losdunum, the present St. Loudunlc6
(Department of Vienne), as well as the German town of
Sun-dun (Solden), and many other places, such as Sonnen-
berg, Sonnenfeld, Sonnenstein, etc., named in honour of
103 In the fine valley of Lismore, a " Lis " — an old castle— is
still to be seen, built on a precipitous rock, on the black water.
104 Lus-na was the Etruscan spelling of the port, and town
of Luna. It was entirely destroyed by the Normans in A.D. 857.
105 The same affinity is found in the name Dunmore.
106 Agathopolis (Italy), has also now-a-days the name of
St. Asrata.
152 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
the sun. Then, again, the Celtic Sul and Soul, Di-Sul, Day
of the Sun (Sunday), Sollus likewise for light, and also the
Teutonic Sunno the Sun. At Rome, the Sabinian Deity,
Sol, was adored, appertaining primitively only to the Sa-
binian Gens Aurelia. His sanctuary was near the temple
of Quirinus. The worship of the sun revived again in
Rome after the death of Adrian, who abolished human
sacrifices. Commodus himself sacrificed a man to Mithras.
From about the time of Probus to Constantine the Great,
the inscription, SOLI INVICTO COMITI, and similar ex-
pressions, relating to the worship of the sun, appear on
coins. Here and there, in Southern Germany, altars and
other stones have been found, having the inscription, SOLI
INVICTO MITHRAE. To the Christians, our Saviour ap-
peared as a spiritual sun, the Sol Novus, as the fathers of
the church call him.
At the old Lausonna, there was certainly an- altar con-
secrated to the sun (Soli Genio), which is testified by the
following important inscription, found in 1739, at Vidy,
the position occupied by that ancient town, and which is
inserted in the inner wall of the Town Hall of Lausanne.
SOLI GENIO LVNAE
SACRVM EX VOTO
PRO SALVTE AVGVS
TORVM P CLOD CORN
PRIMVS CVRATOR VIRA
NOR LAVSSONNENSIVM II
IIIIII VIR AVGVSTAL CCR
CQNVENTVS HEL DSD.
It is a vow addressed to the sun, as tutelar genius106 of
106 The powers of nature, the Genii, were classed into benign
and maleficent, into good and evil. It appears that, by this
word genius, the ancients denoted a quality, a generative power ;
for the following words, which are all of one family, convey
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 153
Lausonna ; and also to the moon, by Publius Clodius, of the
family Cornelia, for the preservation of the Emperor Mar-
cus Aurelius and L. Verus. This Clodius bears the title of
first warden (curator) of the inhabitants of Lausonna ; for
the second time Sextumvir Augustalis. He had set up
this monument at his own expense, and by the consent of
the Helvetic Diet. This inscription corresponds with A.D.
161. 107 At the old Lausona, or Lausonium, a terra-cotta
urn has also been found, with the inscription, FOR. BEL.,
which was explained Forum Beliorum.
Hard by Lausanne is still a more elevated spot than the
castle, called Sauvbelin, or Bois de Sauvabelin, which is the
Celtic Seve-Belin, Silva-Belini, Abelio, Apollo, Sol, Baal-
Sham aim, Lord of heavens, namely, a forest formerly sacred
to Belenus, and on which spot there still remains a wood.
Many of those groves of the Celts were situated on hills,108
in conspicuous positions, commanding a wide prospect op-
posite either to the plain country or to surrounding moun-
tains, also on places which, by a bold mighty rock, or
this meaning, genos, genesis, genus, gens. There were the
genii of places, towns, colonies, provinces, fountains, etc. ; to
them sacrifices were made on certain days in the year. On
coins we read, Genio Populi Romani, Genio Augusti, Genio
Senatus, Genio Exercituum, etc.
107 Among the silver coins of the family Claudia, there is one
which bears a similar name, P.. CLODIUS. M. F. (Marci Filius),
and represents the sun, the moon, and five planets. The period
of the coin may be the time of Augustus. The British Museum
possesses two specimens in gold ; and gold coins of Roman
families being generally extremely rare, seems to shew how
much this family was honoured. In Rome, as I have already
observed, the Sabinian Deity,. Sol, was adored, appertaining
primitively only to the Sabinian Gens Aurelia.
IDS The m'iig have been at all times the temples whereon rude
faiths have piled up their altars, Poet, psalmist, and prophet,
have found in them the truest symbols of God and His might.
154 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
groups of rocks, mysterious caverns, and cascades, pro-
duced a sentiment of holy awe, still strengthened by
ancient and lofty trees. This reminds one of the cluster
of ancient trees that remain on the secluded heights of
Lebanon, celebrated by the poets of Israel as the trees
ofGod.J(*>
The worship of Baal, or Bel, as the sun was called in the
East, is probably of Chaldean origin, and was carried to
the North and the West by the merchants and mariners of
Sidon, Tyre, and Carthage. The Phoenicians made also of
Baal, or Bel, a female deity, Baaloth, Baaltis,110 and Beltis
(Baaltis as his sister).
The old idea in the East, of thinking the eternal Deity to
be the first light, the primary elemental fire, led to the
question, How can this Deity manifest himself otherwise
but in the light of the sun? " Thou shalt call me no more
Baali" (God of fire), Hos.ii.16.
The Kelts had their sanctuaries in woods, as well as on
high elevations. There they met in the open air, pouring
forth their vows and their thanksgivings. In Scripture, we
find, also, that when the King of Moab wanted to obtain an
answer from God, he took Balaam the prophet, and brought
109 \y"e may likewise mention the famous oak grove of Mas-
silia, and that of the temple of Apollo, in the Peloponnesus,
which stood among plane trees. Under the oak of Moreh, at
Shechem, and the oak of Mamre, at Hebron, an altar was built
by Abraham.
110 Baron de Behr, in his " Recherches sur 1'Histoire des
Temps Hero'iques de la Grece," Paris, 1856, p. 260, observes,
that when the present inhabitants of Erdek, of the old Phoe-
nician colony, have need of a block of marble, to serve as a
bench, or as a threshold of a door, they go to seek it in that,
which they call the ruins of Baaltis. Hence the memory of an
Assyrian divinity has survived that of the commercial metropolis
of Greece.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 155
him to the height of Baal. Also, Hosea (iv. 13) says, " They
sacrifice en the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon
the hills, under oaks, because the shadow thereof is good."
And again (1 Kings, xviii. 19), "Now therefore send, and
gather to me all Israel, unto mount Carrnel, and the pro-
phets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of
the groves four hundred."
There are villages of the name of Belmont (Beli-monte) ;
one about Lausanne, the other near Yverdon, of which the
Latin acts have Bellus-mons. In Shropshire, is a round
insulated rock, called the Belin Mount ; and in Scotland,
the Ben-Grian (Grian, the sun, Apollo). According to an
inscription,111 Belenus was worshipped near Riom, on
Mons Belenatensis; and among the people of Gallia
Aquitanica, Pliny mentions the Belindi, and their capital,
Belinum (Belin, a small town in the district of Bordeaux),
as worshipping Belenus. The Marquis of Lagoy has pub-
lished coins of the Belindi, which show the head of Apollo ;
and on the reverse, appears a galloping horse, and the in-
scription BELINOC. The symbol of the horse is connected
with the worship of the sun. Herodotus (i. 42) informs
us, that the Scythians sacrificed horses to their gods ; and
the Persians, likewise, sacrificed horses to the sun. I may
yet observe, that a priest is still called by the Bretons
« Belech " (Balak, Bel). The Irish had, also, Beal, for the
sun.
At the great cataract, at Schaffhausen, horses were
sacrificed — generally those of conquered enemies ; and
horse-shoes have been found in the clefts of the rocks,
which still remain at the great fall. In England, the Vale
of the White Horse had a Cromlech ; and it was only at
111 Published by Simeoni. See also, D. Martin, Relig. de
Gauiois, liv.ii., c. 22.
156 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
the time of William the Conqueror, that the White Horse
of the Britons gave place to the Lion standard. Pen-
nant, in his "Tour in Wales" (ii. p. 336), mentions a
Holy Well, at which the British Mars had his offerings
of horses.
With regard to the present town of Lausanne (Lauso-
dunum), it derived its name from Losona (Lausonio, Lau-
sanium), a town of a very remote period, which stood
beyond Montbenon (scarcely two miles west of the pre-
sent Lausanne, twenty Roman miles from Equestris Nion),
in the plain of Vidy (Vuidi), near the borders of the jlake.
The foundations of buildings, and various remains, as coins,
small bronze statues, etc., that have been discovered
on the site of the old town of Lausanne, namely, about
the village of Vidy, and elsewhere in the vicinity, all indi-
cate an opulent town.
• Many of these antiquities are preserved in the Cantonal
Museum at Lausanne. The remains of a Roman road are
also observable, still bearing the name of Estras( via strata),
leading towards Ouchy112 and Vevey. It was situated on the
great Roman road from Oclodurum to Geneva, namely, from
Octodurum to Agaunum (Tarnais), Pennolucus, Vivisco, ad
Lacum Lausonium (Arpentin?),Noviodunum (Equestribus),
to Geneva. The former Lausonium, or Losona, occurs,
however, under the still more ancient Keltic name of
Arpentin, which name may then refer, in my opinion, to its
situation. It is well known, that the Kelts, and other early
inhabitants of Europe, as well as in other parts of the world,
gave names to places according to their situations, gene-
112 In the Pas de Calais, there are several small towns of the name
of Auchi, the Keltic Alciniacum. In the name of the little town
of Coppet, near Geneva, we have the Keltic Kop (Kimri), which
means a head, or the top of a thing, top of a hill. Cupola the
old French Cope. In Keltic, Kuff means also, sometimes, a hill.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 157
rally alliicling to water, to the sea, to lakes, rivers, moun-
tains, or rocks, fountains, etc.
When one of the Libyan tribes settled around the world-
famed fountain of Cyre, about B.C. 650, they returned
thanks to the god (Apollo) under whose auspices they had
found a new home in the midst of a fertile tract, where
they founded Gyrene, which became the capital of the
country.
Among the Kelts, everything is indicative of the most
simple manners. The cares of men were few ; whatever
was beyond the necessaries of life, was known to them
only as spoil : * the gold of the stranger," " the light of the
stranger," " the steeds of the stranger," etc.
Suppose, in the name of Arpentin (Losona), we have the
ar as the preposition for near (by the Romans, ad}>
ar-avern, near the elevation (the Averni) ; ar-avena, near
the water (Ravenna) ; ar-mor, Armorica, the land on the
North (the Gallic) Sea.113 In Ireland, we have Ar-magh.
Ar-aveitu, in the Umbrian dialect,114 signifies, to bring to-
wards, to bring near. Then, we have pen for hill, eleva-
tion ; and tin for town, and so rendered into Arpentine,
namely, the town situated near the hill or elevation
(Montbenon).
In the Alps of Savoy is a cascade of the name of Ar-
penaz, and I remember having seen somewhere the name of
Ar-penas given to a cascade in the Highlands of Scotland.
The Itinerary gives the name of a town, which existed near
n3 We may here compare the Sclavonic po-mor, Pomerania.
114 The Umbrians are mentioned as a Gallic race. " Umbroni
quaedam gens Gallic a " (sic Pompon. Fest.i.). " Umbri Italise
gens est, sed Gallorum veterum propago " (Isodor. Origin, lib. ix.,
cap. 2). Ombri, Ombriki, by which the Romans and Greeks
designated tbis people, is said to be from a Gaelic word, ombra,
or ambra, which means brave.
VOL. xix. y
158 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Augusta Rauracorum (Augst), in some respeds similar,
namely, Artalbinum, Art-al-benn (on the high elevation).
Others we have in Amberg, Arberg, Arelat (Ar-Llaeth,
marshy, the town on the marsh), Armorica (Ar-mor, on the
sea), etc. By the Kelts, the summit of a mountain was
generally named Pen, Penne, Pin, and Pinne, from hence
the Latin Pennse, Pinna, Pinnaculum. In Spanish, we have
still the Pena de el Cid, the rock of the Cid ; in Wales,
the Penn-rhyn, Pen-caer ; and in Cornwall, the Penn-Den-
nis (Pen-mark means the head of a horse). In names of
families, occurs Penn-Davis, Penn-Nennt, etc. In time,
the name of Arpentine was changed into Losun (Lausonna,
Losane-lacus, Lacus-Lausonnete), and it appears to have
been, for a long time, one of the most considerable towns
on the borders of the lake. According to the Chronicle of
the Pays de Vaud, it was for a time the capital of the
Helvetii. Many such singular changes in the names of
ancient cities appear in all countries. In Italy, we have it,
for instance, in Agylla, which was transformed into Caere,
Felsina into Bononia, Kamars115 into Clusium, etc. Also,
the Saxons in Britain gave new names to those places, or
altered those, which, in their language, were unintelligible.
In Ireland, we have the primitive name of Waterford as
Cuan-na-Grian (Harbour of the Sun) changed into Gleann-
na-Gleodh, i.e., Valley of Lamentation (from a great defeat
from the Danes). The word Granus (Apollo), which we
115 It appears to me that the four brass coins (quadrans) pub-
lished by Carelli (Edit. Caredoni Lipsiae, 1856), and which he
places among Campania incerti, belong to Kamars (Carelli, how-
ever, in p. 4, alludes to that name). These coins are inscribed
KAM., and represent a pig. I may here observe, that, according
to Herodotus (ii. 47), a pig was sacrificed to the moon by the
Egyptians, at a festival held at the full moon ; and the Arabs
have still the word Kamar for the moon.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 159
observe in the primitive name of Waterford, we trace also
in the ancient name of Aix la Chapelle, " Aquis Granum,"
where the hot springs, as at Aix in Savoy, " Aquis Gra-
tianee," were consecrated to that great luminary. In Ire-
land, the name of Gran, Grian for the sun (associated with
star worship), we trace in names of ancient buildings ; for
instance, we have it in the primitive name of Clare, Altoir-
na-Greine, i.e., the Altar of the Sun.116
Granard, a town in the county of Longford, is composed
of " Grian" the sun, and u ard" on high . There is also a
Loch-Greine, and Ben Grianan in Scotland, as likewise
between the districts of Badenoch and Strathspey (county
of Inverness) there is a very extensive and barren heath,
through which the river Spey runs. On this heath, many
Druidical circles of stone are still to be seen entire. The
name of the heath is Slia-ghrannas, i.e., Heath of Granus.
At Inverness, an altar had also been found, dedicated to
Apollo Granus ; at Aix la Chapelle, an old tower bears
still the name of Granus Tower.
On the lower Rhine, a tribe of the Catti had a holy grove,
sacred to the sun, which they called Grinnes.117 Sometimes
the name of Apollo occurs also in the appellation of Cra-
neiis, probably here the Irish " Grian-uisg," i.e., River of
the Sun (Granicus). The most solemn oath of the Gael
was by the sun ; of their women, by the moon : " And all
the chiefs of Ib-Er, and all the Gael raised their right
hands, and swore by the sun, invoking the name of Ith.
And all the matrons, and all the maidens, lifted up their
hands, and they swore by the moon and stars; and all swore
to go to the land of Ith's wounds, and take vengeance for
116 Grana, in Italian and Spanish, signifies cochineal, scarlet.
117 Perhaps the name of the Isle of Grain, in the Medway, with
its little old village church, may allude to the same meaning.
160 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
his death" (Chronicles of Gael-ag). In O'Flaherty's cu-
rious, though rather eccentric work, " Ogygia," I found an
interesting passage (vol. ii. pt. 3, p. 119) which appears to
refer to Ith, who was killed by King Breas, and that Ochy
Optach, the son of Ith, avenged his father's death, by slay-
ing King Breas, at Carnconluain, and that he succeeded
him. In another passage, it appears that Ith had com-
menced a dynasty. It says, " King Forby, the son of Finn,
of the line of 1th." But the custom of swearing by the
sun and the moon, we find was practised in Assyria, in the
eighth century before Christ. To those who place the con-
struction of the greater number of the round towers in a
remote period of Ireland's halcyon days, and also under-
stand the " bearla Feni," to those the following observations
may be interesting. In the cuneiform inscriptions on one
of the great bulls, which stood before the palace of King
Sargon (Balpatis-assur, king of Babylon, B.C. 709 to 704),
at Khorsabad (Kirsi-Sargon), and which is now in the,
Louvre, Dr. Oppert118 reads, " He who attacks the works of
my hands, who effaces my sculptures, who carries off the
jars containing my riches, who strips my treasure — may
the moon (Sin), the sun (Samas), AO (the god of light,119
Saturn), and the gods which inhabit the heart of this man,
exterminate in this land his name and his race, and may
adversity place him in the hands of his enemy." Another
inscription says, " May the Sun, the great arbiter of heaven
and on earth, judge according to the measure of his justice,
may he overtake him in the very act (of stripping the
118 Chronologic des Assyrians et des Babyloniens. Extrait
d'un rapport au Ministre de 1'Instruction Public. Paris, Mai,
1856, p. 39, 41.
n9 This name of AO, as god of light, suggests to me, that I
may refer reverently to the words of our Saviour, " I am the
Alpha and the Omega " (Rev. i. 11).
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 161
treasures, etc.), may Sin (the moon), Nannarou (the lumi-
nous), who inhabits the heavens of images (zodiac), the
most powerful agitator, oppress him with fatigue in the
season of the Hyades (vernal equinox), may he make him
shake with cold at the extremity of his town, in the season
of the Capricorn (autumnal equinox)."
The remains which were yet habitable of the old Losuna,
spared by the barbarians, were destroyed during the great
physical calamity of A.D. 563, when the rest of the few in-
habitants who had time to escape, emigrated to the elevation
of Lausodunum. Bishop Marius mentions in his chronicle
in the following manner, this dreadful calamity, occasioned
by the fall of a mountain (les roches de Meilleraie : mal, a
rock, a stone) into the upper part of the lake. "Ad
annum, 563. Mons validus Tauredunensis in territorio
Valensi ita subito ruit, ut Castrum, cui vicinus erat, et
vicos cum omnibus ibidem habitantibus oppressisset, et
lacum in longitudine LX. milium, ad latitudine XX. milium
ita totum movit, ut egressus utraque ripa vicos antiquissi-
mos cum hominibus et pecoribus vastasset, etiam mnlta
sacrosancta loca cum eis servientibus demolisset, et pontem
Genevacum, molendinas et homines per vim dejecit, et
Geneva civitate ingressus plures homines interfecit."
This reminds one of a passage in the Chronicles of
Gael-ag(i.T) : " And all that went forth from Mahg-sean-ar
(i. e., the old desolated town of the forefathers), dwelled in
Ard-mionn (the summit of the height) ; and Ard-fear (chief
of the people), ruled that land as aforetime, but in person."
It is curious, also, that in the ancient Persian language,
art, or arta, signifies high, great ; Arta-Xerxes, the great
king. In Sanscrit, the word artha bears the same sense as
in Persian, indicating height, loftiness ; and reminds one,
likewise, of the Irish Ard-Riagh, chief monarch (reg, to
judge ; Regs, Rex, Raja).
162 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
This meaning may also be found in the name of the Ar-
dennes (Ard-Enna, the high mountainous land, forest).
Arda, in Irish, high, haughty. Aruin, in Gaelic, means a
forest. In the life of St. Remalcus, who went into the
forest of the Ardennes, in the time of King Childebert,
about A.D. 570, they were called " Arduennan120 sylvam
paludibus et montibus impeditam." Under the name of
Arduina, we have also a Keltic divinity of the Treviri
(Diane Gaulois), Artemis, Luna, Hecate. Near Sion, in
the Valais, is the old village of Ardon121 (Ardona, Ar-
donium) ; it is situated high onjhe Rhone. There is also
the small town of Art (Arta122), situated between the two
mountains, the Rigi (Regius mons, Regina montium) and
the Rossberg. In the Highlands of Scotland, we have
Loch-ard, and a place called Ardnamurchan ; and the moun-
tain of Dochart, which towers in lofty grandeur above Loch
Tay, as well as Bein-Ardlanich, 3,000 feet above the sea.
In some of the highest passes of the Alps (Summse Alpes),
we have the Gott-ardh — art having been Germanised into
hart1*3— where (at Mons Jovis), according to Caesar (de
B. G. lib. iii., p. 56 ; Venet.1605, 8vo.), the Taurici wor-
shipped the sun.
Hence, the name of Gotard, signifies God (adored) on
the summit. God-ardh,lz* which corresponds to Jupiter-
Penninus125 (Poenus, Pennus, Pen), and to the Latin sum-
120 Ardu (Punica Maltese), the end of a summit.
121 In Ireland, we have a mountain called Donard.
122 Artabriga, in Spain.
123 probably referring also to the Hartz mountains.
124 Here, again, the Irish " Ard-Riagh," chief monarch. Ard-
magh, is the Metropolitan See of Ireland. In the Isle of Mar , is
seen a large stone, supposed to have been erected as a monument
to an early king of the Isle of Man. It is called " Goddard
Covan's Stone."
125 lovi Apenio (Muratori, viii. 5). lovi Vesuvius (Muratori
x. 11).
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 163
mus, which means the Great St. Bernard (Summus Pen-
ninus), where the Veragri worshipped Hercules ; bern-ard,
great man.126 We may here allude to Mount Donard, Dun-
ard (Mourne mountains in Ireland), about 3,000 feet high,
and on which, likewise, a St. Donard, disciple of St. Patrick,
lived as a hermit, and built, towards the close of the fifth
century, an oratory on the top of it.
Livy says:127 " Neque Hercule montibus his a transitu
Poenorum ullo Veragri incola jugi ejus nomen inditum no-
runt, sed ab eo, quern in summo sacratum vertice Penninum
montani appellant." M. Martin128 gives an inscription,
found at the great St. Bernard, which reads, " Lucilius Deo
Pennino. O. M. donum dedit." It is interesting, that
Polybius129 mentions a people, which he calls "Ardyes-
Galli," who lived about the pass of the Furka (from Mar-
tigny to Chamounix). The most ancient name of Martigny
(Martiniacum), was Octodurum, and appears to me, to have
been derived from the Keltic words Og, Ogh-min, the
Keltic Hercules, chief of the heroes ;130 and Dur, for
water.131 We learn from Lucian, that this Ogh-min's attri-
butes were similar to those of Hercules (Ogo-sacer, con-
secrated to Hercules). Here we are reminded of Og,
king of Bashan, who was of the race of giants (Josh.xii. 4).
A similar application appears in the Phoenician deity, Okh,
or Och — by the Greek writers called Okos (Og-minos) —
who, with his children, was considered a founder of colo-
nies, which, in a figurative style, were called his daughters.
126 We have an Irish king, whose name is " Bern-gal."
127 Livy, lib. xxi., cap. 38. Also, Pliny, iii. 1 7.
128 Relig. des Gaulois, vol. ii., p. 402.
129 Lib. iii., c. 47.
130 In old French, ogre means a wild man ; and the English
have a proverb, " He eats like an ogre, like a Gaul."
131 In the Indian dialect of Brahui, water is called dir.
164 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Hercules, as tutelary deity of Tyre and her colonies, the
Melkarth, Melek-Heracles, whose power principally depen-
ded on commerce, became a god of commerce, a mixed
Keltic divinity of Hercules and Mercury, by the name of
Og-min. The twofold character of Hercules, as a god and
as a hero, is acknowledged even by Herodotus.
The name of Ogyges has been preserved to us as that of
the most ancient colony which came and established itself
in Attica.132 Hence, Och-o-dur, or Octodurum,133 signifies,
the habitation, the town on the water, on the source conse-
crated to Hercules, similar to Aquis-Granum, the spring of
Apollo (Aix la Chapelle), and others, like Aquae Solis, the
ancient name of Bath. Moreover, we have Solonacum,
Solonaco, Solodurum, etc. The sacredness of sources and
132 In the excellent critique of the distinguished M". Anat.ole
Barthelemy, on the valuable work of the late M. Duchalais,
" Description des Medailles Gauloises," I found the following
observation on this Keltic divinity of Og-mi (Revue. Numismat.
1847, p. 159):-
" II nous semble que le mythe d'Albaris vient jeter une certaine
lumiere sur un passage de Lucien qui jusqu'a ce jour & du paraitre
d'autant plus bizarre que rien dans les Gaules ne nous a encore
fait soup^onner quelque divinite" qui rappellat celle que le philo-
sophe grec depeint sous les traits d'Hercule Ogtninos (Lucien
Hercul. i., et 3; Amm. March, xv. 9; Pomp. Mela, ii. 5; Plin.
H.N. iii., v. 4). A nos yeux Ogminos, dieu de 1'eloquence, en-
trainant ses auditeurs avec les chaines, qui s'attachent & ses
Levres, Ogminos arm£ d'un arc, un carquois sur 1'epaule, doit
etre le meme personage qu' Abaris (Abacus, surname of Apollo),
d'ont le carquois et 1'arc scythes avaient aussi attire 1'attention
des Grecs. Comme Apollon, Hercule combattant G£ryon dans
la peninsule Iberique se confond avec le soleil; remarquons en-
core que Ogminos se rapproche de oyyuoc qui est quelquefois
synonyme de d£de et qu' ainsi Hercule Ogminos pourrait fort bien
n'e'tre qu' Hercule voyageur, ce qui est une ressemblance de plus
avec Abaris."
133 Ptolemy gives also an Octodurum in Hisp. Tarraconensis.
The former name of the town of Yougball, in Ireland, was
Ochella.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 165
springs, is unquestionably a universal feature in the cha-
racter of all early mythology,13* from the Indus to the Nile,
from the Parnassian source of Alpheus to that of the Tiber,
or the Apennines. In fact, the worship of rivers, brooks,
and springs, lasted until towards the sixteenth century.
The Abbey of Belle-Fontaine, near Beaupreux (Maine and
Loire) is built over a holy well, which is yet supposed to
maintain to this day, as in antiquity, its efficacy. Many
convents in France have been named after springs sacred
in the time of the Druids. The Keltic deity, Borvo Tomona,
left his name to Bourbone les Baines. Some lakes in the
Highlands of Scotland are, according to popular tra-
dition, still haunted by the Elfin people (Else, Use, Ailse,
Aillse-nae).
" Where nymphs from hollow oaks relate,
The dark decree and will of fate."
Christianity transferred the healing power of springs of
wells to her saints. The well of St. ^Elian, in Wales
(Caernarvonshire), has been in great repute for cures of all
diseases, by means of the intercession of the saint. In
Ireland, the name of a Cistercian monastery is Melli-font,
and at Dublin we have the St. Patrick's Well. Ognain was
also considered as a deity of eloquence, and named in an
old Irish codex as the inventor of writing, Ogma, Ogma-
Grianan (Oggam, a species of old Irish character). The
Greeks, by the expression " Ogygian times," meant the
epoch of their most ancient traditions, as we now say " The
Biblical times." Statues of Ogmin were represented some-
times gilt, sometimes, according to circumstances, only
134 Odyssey (xvii. 211), and Tacitus (de Moribus Germanorum,
c. 16), observes: " Colunt diversi ac discreti, ut campus, ut
Fons, ut nemus placuit."
VOL. XIX. Z
166 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
painted yellow — applicable to the sun. By the ancient
Egyptians, saffron was called the blood of Hercules. At
an early Roman period, the idol of Jupiter, at the Capitol,
was painted red on holy days. In the old Christian sym-
bolism, our Saviour is generally painted in a red garment,
symbolical of dignity as well as red being the colour of
fire. To the early Christians, Christ was a spiritual sun,
the " Sol Novus," the Sun of Righteousness, as the fathers
of the Church call him, and is sometimes symbolized by a
lamp or candle, as " the Light of the World " (John ix. 5).
Even as late as A.D. 612, the eminent Irish converters of
the Swiss from Paganism, St.Columbanus (-{-. 615) and St.
Gallus (-f . 640), found near Bregenz three idols of gilt
bronze, which were in particular veneration. And on the
Lake of Zurich, St. Gallus met with similar idols, to which
offerings were made, and whose figures he broke, and cast
into the lake 135
In the collection of the late Mr. Woodburn, of London,
I saw, some years ago, a bronze gilt figure (life-size, it
might be Apollo), which, in my humble opinion, belonged to
that kind of Romano-Keltic idols, and is probably the
only one still in existence. It was found in France, and is
now in the Louvre. In Rome, a colossal statue of Nero
(111 feet in height) was made by the brass-founder, Zeno-
dorus ; this statue was consecrated to the sun, in A.D. 75.
Mention is made of the restoration of a temple of Bele-
nus, in the third century, which had a gilt statue. This
temple stood at the old town of Julium Carnicum (Nori-
cum).136 From the country of the Kelts, which was sacred
135 It appears that in Ireland, St. Patrick had done the same;
he pulled down a brazen idol, which was standing near the river
Gothard ; and so it appears he did at Cashel, the seat of the
Kings of Munster.
136 Muchar, Das romische Noricum ii. p. 268.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 167
to Apollo (Galeus, son of Apollo), votive presents were sent
to Delos, where the Hyperborean Apollo was worshipped,
and whose temple was spared by Xerxes,137 (480 B.C.) and
who, according to the assertion of the Greeks, sacrificed
several times to the sun. The last account we have of these
embassies, of which history still makes mention, came from
the utmost North, from Scandia, i.e., Land of the Sun ;
according to Pliny, " Solin," Apollonius Rhodius gives it as
the Land of the Sun.
The name of the town of Octodurum has been, at a later
Kelto- Germanic period, transformed into Martiniacum ;
Ochmin being changed into Mars (Dies Martis, Martin)
and dur into ac, hence Martinac. (The Romans assimilated
Ogminus to Mercury). The third and present appellation,
Martigny, dates from the invasion of the Burgundians, who
changed the ac into ay, like Tourniac into Tourigny,
Ambroniacum into Ambronay, Cartiniac, Cartigny, and
Ageium into Ay. A temple of Mars, which formerly
stood at the town of Verwick, in Flanders, was replaced
by a church of St. Martin; there are also the "Pierres-
Martin."138 The town of Famars, near Valenciennes, was
a Fanum Martis, and so St. Maux, a village in Lorraine,
where stood a temple of Mars.139 It appears also, that by
some Keltic tribes, Mars was often confounded with the sun,
and that the divinity by the name of Belatucadrus was at
the same time the sun and the god of battles.
Every nation has her heroes, which, in many points ac-
cord, if masculine power becomes ideal and symbolised.
The Ochmin being changed into Mars, puts it out of the
137 Herod, vi. 97. 118.
138 Tailliar, Essay sur 1'Histoire des Institutions du Nord de
la France, p. 211, Douai, 1852.
139 Beaulieu, Arch^ologie de la Lorraine, vol. i. p. 139. Paris,
1846.
168 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
question to suppose that the etymology of Octodurum
means the site of the eight waters, or rivers, as in the
names of the towns of Sebendunum, or Bedunia, which
may refer to the seven, or to the two heights, or hills. On
a large brass coin of Vespasian, we observed the personi-
fied Roma, seated on seven hills. In Perthshire we have
the Ochil Hills ; and, I believe, the word Ochiltree signifies
the high hamlet or dwelling.
The worship of Hercules appears to have been intro-
duced into Gaul by the Phoenicians: and here one may
allude to an affinity of the Etruscan myth, to that of the
Phoenicians ; and also observe, that the famous Hercules-
road over the Alps (Summus Poeninus) the Great St. Bern-
ard, which was used from a time older than any historical
records, is a Phoenician one,140 passed and repassed by
merchants and travellers, and where Jupiter Poeninus was
worshipped (Lucus Poeninus) Julius Caesar punished some
of the Veragri and Seduni, who lived thereabout, and had
disturbed the traffic by brigandage (de B. G. iii. 1 — 3).
In the year 57, B.C., Caesar ameliorated the roads over the
Alps, to facilitate the commerce.
In the name of Lacus Lemanus, we have the Keltic
Loch-le-aman, the lake of current waters (Ar-naman, the
ravaging river), reminds one of Loch na-n Gasan, in Ire-
land, i. e., the Lake of Springs.141 We have, also, the
Lemanus Portus, which is Lymne, near Hythe.
140 Shewing the presence of these enterprising mercantile
people of the old world, in Gallia, Cis and Transalpina, M.
Thierry (Hist, des Gaulois) also observes, that the communication
from Spain to Italy, by the Romans, the Aurelian and Domitian
roads, had evidently been founded upon passes of the Phoenicians.
I have also seen it stated somewhere, that the Phoenicians intro-
duced the cultivation of the vine into the south of France.
141 It is stated, that in the time of King ^Eenaus, many people
were employed in cutting down a great deal of wood ; in conse-
quence of which, several lakes appeared, or formed themselves,
and among them was Loch-Gasan (Loch-na-n Gasan).
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 169
Ausonius calls the Lemanus the source of the Rhone :
"qua rapitur princeps Rhodanus Genitore Lemano." In
olden times, people believed that the Rhone (Rhodanus,
Rhedeg, Redecq, running with rapidity, Rho-dan142) was
not absorbed by the waters of the lake, and continued to
run directly through the lake to the opposite end of Geneva,
where it again reappears. Homer mentions a similar oc-
currence of the river Titaresios (Ilias ii. 750) ; and I recol-
lect having read, that in Wales exists also the belief, that
the river Dee runs through the lake of Bala, unmixed with
its waters.
Towards the borders of the Lacus Lemanus, we en-
counter Kelto-Germanic terminations of the liquid element
in ac and ag (aha, aches}, namely, in Lustriacum (Lutry)
Polliacum (Beleno aquae — it is, now-a-days, Pully), Corsi-
acum (Corsier, near Vevey), Culiacum (Cully), Luliacum
(Lully), Modernacum (Mornay), Bactiacum (Bex143), and
Agaunum (St. Maurice, Monasterii Agaunensis). On the
Rhsetian frontier, we have also an Agaunun (Inichen), on
the river Drau (Dravus), and similar idioms we en-
counter in France and Germany. In Ireland, I may
mention Corc-ach, the city of Cork, surrounded by the
river Lee. The ancient Irish called the harbour Beal-ach,
Conliach.
In Welsh, the sea is called Aig. However, in the name
of Vevey, Vibiscum, Bibiscum, Viviacum, and its inhabi-
tants, the Vibisci, we observe another of the so frequent
Keltic word, Uisge, Uisk, and Uis ; which was, in the
course of time, transformd into Aesch, Asch, Asq, and
142 Reminds one of the names of the rivers Rhadamanthos and
Acheron, in the kingdom of Pluto.
1*3 Bay, Beium, Baja, — Bayonne, Beke; and in the Gaelic,
bddh, bagh, signifies an inlet, a bay. We have also the town of
Bagacum (Bavay).
170 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Aix. We have, also, the Bituriges Vivisci, on the Garonne ;
the Uisippi (Usipedes), who lived near the hot wells of
Wiesbaden144 (Aquae Mattiacse).
bet .flatten unb Corner,
(SHnft ©enefung gefcfyopft, quttlt nofy t)eilenbe ,5ttaft.145
.ftocfyenb pptubelt ber SBotn, au§ tiefen tmlcanifofyen Jlliiften,
3£o ba8 Men teginnt, fy&llt bie Sftatut fl$ in
Martial (xiv. 27) recommends the soap balls made by the
people of Wiesbaden (pilas Mattiacas) to ladies of a certain
age (which, of all ages, according to Byron, most uncer-
tain is), much as, now-a-days, the oil of Macassar is
recommended.
Part of the name of Wiesbaden may have been derived
from the Keltic Uis, the lively, the moving element, water.
In Scotland, we have a mountain called Ben-vish, which har-
bours snow throughout the year. One might perhaps here
allude also to the words of Hosea (ii. 16), " Thou shalt
call me Ishi, and shalt call me no more Baali " (god of
fire). And again, " My people have forsaken me, the foun-
tain of living waters " (Jer. ii. 13). In Vishnu, among the
Indians, we have water as a first element of all things.
There were also the Istaevoni, near the Rhine, and the
Danube appears as Ister, i.e., water, Istria, waterland (tir,
terra, land). We may as well also mention the celebrated
144 2Wand)et bet e§ mcfyt gebacfyt,
>£at bott fdjon fetn ©lucf gemacfyt ;
2)enn e8 futyren oft bie 8<u)men
$ort bie allerfcpnflen £>amen !
145 But mineral waters ought not to be made use of as a cure,
without proper medical advice, as it may become dangerous.
On an old grave-stone in the churchyard of a fashionable water-
ing-place in England, we read —
" Here lie my wife and two daughters.
Is this your cure ? G . . . d . . . n your waters."
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 171
watering place, Ischl, in the Styrian Alps. -It is curious
that the mighty flood, the " Mississippi," signifies " Father
of Water."
In the Guiana language (South America) " Wunni-bishi "
means a small river.
Some kind reader may perhaps, now and then, smile at
my far-fetched comparisons ; but if we accept, that the
different races of mankind sprung from one pair, why
should not the different languages have been derived from
a primitive one. " The human language," says Professor
Miiller, in Art. vii. Oxford Essays, 1856, " forms an unin-
terrrupted chain from the first dawn of history down to
our own time." We have the words father, mother, sister,
and daughter, given in parallel columns in Sanscrit, Zend,
Greek, Latin, Gothic, Slavonic, and Irish.146
Let us resume again our inquiries into the Keltic settle-
ments on the Lake of Geneva. In the time of Augustus,
when the Roman power had already spread out in Helvetia,
Vevey, Mouton, and Avenches, had become places of some
importance, on account of their situation on the high road
over the Summus Penninus from Italy to Germany.
The Roman Penno-Lucus (Ville-neuve), on the Leman,
alludes to its situation, namely, on the head of the lake (pen
or ben means also a head), as we have it in a similar meaning
at a place called Pen-Llyn, on the Lake of Bala, in Wales ;
Pencinwyd, a chief huntsman. In the Tyrol, Lueg signifies
a lofty mountain ; and Lugu, in Brittany, means a tower :
Lucus (Lucus Augusti) may be of similar origin. During the
time of the Burgundian occupation of parts of Switzerland,
146 I have, myself, noticed in the Guiana language (South
America) Abba, is father; Amma, mother ; Papa-aeyeweni, grand-
father. In some Indian dialects (Brahui and Tamil), we have
Umma and Amma for mother, A-pa for father.
172 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
some places did change the termination of ac or ag into ay,
as in Cosonay, Blonay, Arnay, Poligny (Poliniac, Apolini
aquae), Martigny (Martiniac ), and Coloniacum into Coligny.
In Scotland, we may mention the village of Eyemouth,
near the sea-shore. Perhaps we may also allude to
Guerns-ey, Orken-ey, and whoever may have been near the
shore of the Red Sea, may recollect the name and place of
" Ain-Moussa," i.e., the Fountain of Moses. In other
places, the Franks have changed the ac into ax and aix.
The termination of places in Dun or Tun (for, in
compound words, it was written both ways) is very fre-
quent. The primitive Romans also named their towns only
Montani,147 which may be compared to Dunum, the town
of Down, in Ireland, to Dun-Tay (Dundee), on the river
Tay; the Swiss town of Thun, where Lacus Tunensis was
yet called, in the eighth century, Dunensis.148 Hill alone,
used in the Psalms, figuratively signifies sometimes the
Temple, or the high place where the Deity was worshipped,
" That God did make His residence on hills." Even now-
a-days, " Monte della Citta " is usually given in Italy to
sites formerly occupied by cities. And so the Greek Pyr-
gos, the German Burg, the Briga of the Spaniards, the
Arx in Latin, etc., all signify the top of a hill, as well as in
later times, a town, or castle, in the plain, such as we ob-
serve in the Italian Rocca, a castle, a fortified place.
*' L'anno 1435, Sigismondo (Malatesta), comincio in
Rimini la fabrica della Rocca, che fu chiamata castel Sigis-
mondo, colla dove era il palazzo vecchio."149 In fact, Casa,
147 Bunsen, Descript. of Rome, vol. i. p. 34.
148 Fredegari Scholastic! Chron., p. 420. Eo anno (iv. regni
Theuderici) aqua caldissima in Lacu Dunensis, quern Arula
flumen influit, etc. The Gothic was " idun" for dun.
149 Sansovino della Origine et de Fatti delle famiglie illustri
d'ltalia. Venezia, 1 582, p. 234.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 173
Castrum, conveys again the idea of enclosure and pro-
tection. Cassis, in the Etruscan language, signifies a
helmet, so likewise Castris, or Castris-ager is an en-
closed field, like the old English town. Dun, is allusive
likewise to the Keltic Dan and Don, which signifies high,150
as well as al and el (Alps, Al-pen 151), as we have it in El-
burga, EHburga, which, in Irish, signifies the high, the
mighty town. This dan and don, reminds one also of the
German " Tanne/' the high fir or pine tree. The al, el,
tall, fell, may have been understood in the sense of tall, as
well as mighty, strong; we have only to allude to the tor-
rent, " Talla," in the Highlands of Scotland, which, with
great fury, dashes over a number of small cascades, and
there, the spot is called "Talla-Linns" (lin, a pool, a lake,
a channel), and the tell remind us of William Tell, which
is merely the tall, or the strong William, and hence, of
course, the several Tell's or Toll's in the traditions of some
northern countries.
ffit^etm Sefle g
menge $to£fe ©cfynrifcerfcfut.
In the ancient language of Scotland, Alp, or Alb, sig-
nifies, also, an eminence. The Highlanders are still ac-
customed to call the country they inhabit " Alabin," or
Alpin ; and their own language they denominate " Gaelic-
Alabinish." There are, also, some wild hills called "Bread-
Albane."152 Hence, the Albanich of Britain, or the Albani
150 In the Highlands of Scotland, a Dun-Shie, is a fairy
mount.
151 Al-permines, and the Irish " Bruaidh al-ben," the region
of lofty hills.
152 Albanach means Scotch, a Scotchman. One of the great-
est proprietors in Scotland, is the Marquis of Breadalbane. The
North Bristol Mail stated, that on the 25th of March, 1857, the
VOL. XIX. A A
174 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
of Italy, seem names founded on the same characteristic
reason — the height or roughness of their respective coun-
tries.153 It was natural enough for men who had been once
settled in the lower plains of Gallia Belgica, to give the
name of Alba, or Alpin, to Britain.
However, we have more to say about the term Dun.
Dinn-Rich was the hill of kings.154 Edinburgh may have
been occupied first by one of the Pictish tribes, merely as a
Dun, a fort (donjon155). The dictionary of the academy,
defines the word Dun, in place, ville de guerre, fortress
piaaza, fortezza, citta di guerra156 (Alberti). On mediaeval
coins, we still read, sometimes, Castel annexed to Dun;
Castel-dun,157 Dunis-Castello, Duno-Castro (Chateaudun,
fishermen belonging to the Marquis of Breadalbane, caught in
the Loch Tay, at one draught, no less than 49 salmon, which
weighed nearly 900 Ibs. ; on Friday, 15, weighing 300 Ibs. ; and
on Saturday, 14, weighing 250 Ibs. Now talk about poor
Scotland !
• " And this other collar — to what country does this fair jewel
belong ? " " To a very pooi' one, my love," replied the Earl ;
" this is the Order of St. Andrew, revived by the last James of
Scotland." — Kenilworth .
153 .« The Albanese," says Lord Byron, " struck me by their
resemblance to the Highlanders of Scotland, in their dress,
figure, and manner of living. Their very mountains seem Cale-
donian, but a milder climate. The kilt, though white; the
spare, active form ; their dialect, Keltic in the sound ; and their
hardy habits, all carried me back to Morven." — Notes to the
second chapter of " Childe Harold's Pilgrimage."
154 The ancient Scots called the Sovereign, Ri ; and the
Britons, Rhuy and Rhy (Rhea), which corresponds to the modern
French Roy, and the Spanish Rey ; and so the Rex of the Latins
is derived from the Keltic.
155 Ducange alludes, also, to the derivation of Dungeon : " in
duno sive cofie aedificatum." This would remind one, at once,
of the Mamertine prison under the Mons Capitolinus.
156 Baxter (voc. Londinium) observes : " Din, Don, Dun, Arx
est, et Oppidum, sive civitas atque etiam Collis."
l3? The chief town in the Isle of Man (Mona), is Castle-Town.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 175
A.D. 840), Exolduno-Castro (Isodun). In Derbyshire, we
have Castleton. The fort of Dundermot, county of Antrim,
is an oval of sixty feet by thirty, and perfectly level on the
top. This is enclosed by a very deep fosse, and below this
fosse is another, into which the river Maine runs in flood
time. This Dun is ascended by a steep winding path.
In the same neighbourhood, stands Dun-Baught, on a high,
rocky hill, nearly inaccessible. Dun-Gorkin, in the county
of Londonderry, is called " The Fort of Famine," probably
having held out till reduced by starvation. Within that
fortification have been dug up hatchets of basalt, spear-
heads of grey granite, and arrows of flint ; and from these
examples it is evident that the Dun was a military fortifi-
cation (in Wales, Din, Din-Colyn); and that, in its con-
struction, some engineering skill was displayed. In the
Sclavonian countries, the wooden buildings on eminences,
which were secured, as far as possible, against the attack
of enemies, were called (Hrady) Gradi, or Castles.158 It
appears that, sometimes, Duns were given up for the erec-
tion of churches. In Ireland, a church is mentioned of the
name of Cill-Benen, which was erected within the Arx, or
fortress, called Dun-Lughaidh, from a lord of the country,
who, with his father and four brothers, having been bap-
tised by St. Patrick and St. Benen, gave up the Dun, or
fortress, for that purpose.
In the great Isle of Arran, is Dun Aenguis, i. e., the forti-
fication of Angus. Another is in the middle isle, the Dun
Concovair. The isles of Arran abound in remains of
Druidism. However, as fortified habitations, during the
middle ages, arose out of Roman castles, so were the latter
often built on Keltic Duns. And so were Christian
158 K. J. von Bienenberg : "Ueber die Alterthlimer im Konig-
reich Bohtnen," vol. i., p. 87. Koniggratz, 1778.
176 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
churches erected on places where heathen temples stood.
And here and there, some of the porches of the Roman
temples are yet preserved, like those of the cathedral of
Aix, and Avignon ; and, if I recollect well, at Trieste and
Naples also. The church of St. Martin, near Canterbury,
is said to be the first building of Roman origin (Deus Mars)
that was devoted to Christian worship in England. *
Besides the Dun, Din (Welsh Dinas), we have, also, the
Rath, and the Lis, Lios, Leasa ; i. e., an earthen enclosure,
court, or fortified place. The Dun and Lis, are nearly sy-
nonymous : the chief difference seems to be in the situation,
that of the Lis varying in the mode of protection, the
earthen entrenchment and the wattle-hedge being employed
for the Lis, while the Dun is fenced with thick walls of
great strength ;159 and is also invariably placed upon a com-
manding spot, often on a rock; and, hence, many have the
name of Carrodunum. These fortifications have given
names to many places in Ireland, which begin with the word
Rath, Lis (see my argument about Lausanne), and Dun.
As we have it in Rathbarry, Rathcormuk, and Lismore ;
then in Dunmanway, Dunmanus, Dundeedy, etc.
There are, also, many circular buildings, of inferior di-
mensions, on the west coast of Scotland, and in the
Hebrides, called Duns (Dunadh, a dwelling) ; but, in
Zetland, they call them Picts-houses, and Burghs.
It was a great usage among the Irish, to make assemblies
upon Raths, or hills, to parley about matters of wrongs
between township and township.160 Hence, it was a
place of assembly, as well as also the residence of the
159 Caesar describes such a fort of a German tribe, the
Atuatici (de B. G. ii., p. 76, Ed. Elzeviriana).
160 I should not wonder if the German word " Rath " (coun-
cil), was derived from these Raths. The Bohemians actually
have it in " Rada."
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 177
chieftain.161 I have already observed, that in Transylvania,
the Raths were called " Brady." The castle at Prague, the
capital of Bohemia, is called " Hradschin ;" and another
old castle in the neighbourhood is called " Wischerad."
Aircealtair (Arras-Keltair) was the name of the large Rath
at Downpatrick, in the county of Down.162 Then we have
the Keltic word of Daingean ; expressing, also, a close, a
fast place, and a fort. In fact, the Daingean was the
primitive Keltic fortification, which was made by digging a
ditch, throwing up a rampart, and, on the latter, fixing
stakes, which were, of course, a temporary defence used by
all nations.
The Rath, the Dun and the Daingean, with their fosses,
ramparts and palisades, were the forts among the Irish
antecedent to the Norman invasion (A.D. 1169). N.B.
When the inconveniences of such high situations appeared,
places of defence were built on low ground ; but they often
retained the names of Duns, Raths, Burgs, or Bergs, as we
have shown already in the case of the Italian Rocca. Often
we observe in flat countries as a termination, the word mag
(town), as in the names of Borbetomagus (Worms, beor
Teutonic, for corn, fruit of all kinds, i.e., the town situated
in the fruitful country), Noviomagus, Niomagum (the new
town), Argentomagum, Rigomagum (Remagen, on Medi-
aeval coins Rigimago), etc., etc. In scripture, we observe
161 Perhaps one of the last of this sort of national assemblies of
days of old, of which mention is made, took place, A.D. 554, at
Tara (Teagh-mor-Ragh, the great house of the king), during the
reign of King Diarmid.
162 In the will of St. Patrick, the Rath is mentioned as Raith.
" Dun a mbiam 'eis erge a Raith Chealtair mhic Duach : " that is,
" Down, where my resurrection shall be, in the fortification of
Keltair, the son of Duach." St. Patrick died in A.D. 493. —
Jucelin, in his " Life of St. Patrick" c. 56.
178 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Magum as urbs Judaea (Jos. xv. 55), and Baal-magon, as
urbs Moab (Ezek. xxix. 9).
The Scots retain the Dun in the use of the word toon,
meaning a place of habitation. Mansions or farm-houses,
environed about with paling or hedges (the German Zaum,
the Dutch Tuin, enclosure), got the name of Tunnes, after-
wards pronounced towns. Hence the rather old English
"hedging and tining" (tine, to divide a field with hedges).
A dwelling situated in the country is a Landward-town.
Hence, also. Cote-tun, North-tun, South-tun, Cingestun,etc.,
(Cotton, Norton, Sutton, Kingston), and so on, the British
Segodun (Seton). From the Augustodunum remained Au-
tun, and as we have observed of our Swiss Minodunum,
Mouton, etc.
The Avari, A.D. 557, in Pannonia, called their resi-
dences, which were protected by trenches, ramparts, and
many folding fencing, " rings," and Charlemagne had there
to encounter a strong resistance, until at last these
sheltering dykes fell, and threw immense treasures into
the hands of the Franks.163 I may here observe, that the
Kelts had a particular veneration for the circle, the "ring,"
retaining the form in their ornaments (which practice, it
appears, reached down to the early part of the Mediaeval
period),164 making use of it in holy symbols, and therefore
they built house and temple round, and rounded their
forts.105 At a somewhat later period, they built in those
163 Stalin, Wirtembergische Geschichte, vol. i. p. 246.
164 Let us only allude to the ornaments of the Anglo-
Saxons.
165 Here, I am unable to refrain from alluding to the round
towers of Ireland. — In Shetland, the Burgh of Mousa is a
circular building, of which the stones are of uniform magni-
tude, and well laid together, without any cement. It is 42 feet
high, and the walls are 15 feet in thickness (see Hibbert's De-
script, of Shetland, p. 251).
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 179
" rings," temples (fana), in which the gods were venerated
at times when the weather made it difficult to do so in the
open air. Tacitus speaks of the destruction of such a
sanctuary of the Germans, which was probably constructed
of wood, as many churches still are in the northernmost
parts of Europe.
Near Penrith is a circular enclosure, called Arthur's-
Ring ; and in Westmoreland we have Arthur's-Table, a cir-
cular one, consisting of a high dike of earth, and a deep foss
within, surrounding an area of twenty yards in diameter,
and which may also be numbered among those rings or
encampments. In Yverdun (Eburodunum, Castrum Ebu-
rodunense, situated near the Lake of Neuchatel, on the
mouth of the river Orbe), we have the town, the fort on or
near the shore of the lake, or the harbour, Abor, Aber, Old
Brit., the mouth of a river, a bay, hence Aberteen, or Havre,
and the Eburones. In Wales, we have Aber-Maw (Bar-
mouth), seated very near the sea ; Aber-geleu, Aber-ogwen,
Aber-menai (Anglesey), etc. There is also Aber or Inver,
Invernethy, Abernethy, Aberystwith, Aberglasslyn, etc.
If we take it as Ib-er-dun, then ebur or aber is only
abbreviated, and the Ib is considered as a general topo-
graphic denomination,166 like Ib-ern in Irish, which means
the stronghold of the Gael. Ib-arra, the strong home
residence, assimilating to the Scotch Ard-ib-er, Ard-gael
(Argyle, Attacotti), high seat of the Gael ; in the sons of
Ivor, we have the sons of Gael. The height of Ireland is
Ard-Eri, and in Ard-mag, Innis- Alga, we have the Holy
Island ; one lofty peak in the wild and rugged district,
forming the boundary between the King's and the Queen's
Counties, bears this proud title.
166 Here the Latin ib-i, there, the very spot.
180 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Our Swiss Eburodunum appears to have been destroyed
by fire, from the quantity of corn reduced into a mass of
coal found among its ruins. This may have happened in
A.D. 363, at a renewed irruption of the Alemanni, when
Rauracorum, Vindonissa, and many other great places,
which were yet in some degree inhabited, were plundered
by them and laid in ruins, because the Roman troops
in Gaul were no longer strong enough to drive back the
furious assault of the advancing Alemanni.
It is stated, that St. Prothasius,167 a bishop of Aventicum,
A.D. 501 — 530, had already begun to erect some houses of
wood, and also a church, near the castle (the Losodun),
probably with the intention of rendering the Episcopal See
of the Aventici in future more secure. He died during the
progress of the work, A.D. 530, and was buried on the spot
where stands the church, or rather chapel of St. Prez (Prex),
at the small town of that name (St. Prothasii Oppidum)
which is situated on a point of land near the Lake of Geneva,
at the mouth of the river Boiron.
The successor of St. Prothasius was St. Chilmegisile,
A.D. 531. In A.D. 885, the church of St. Prez was given to
the bishoprick of Lausanne, by Reginald, lord of that part
of the country, forming, in olden times, the high road
between Lausonium and Equestris. In the deed of the
donation, no mention is, however, made of the tomb of
St. Prothasius. With regard to the wooden buildings
erected by St. Prothasius, we may reflect on the rustic
Ifi7 On some coins, struck at Milan, by the Emperor Henry
VII. (1308 — 1313) we observe the representation of two Saints,
St. Gervasius and St. Protasius : the latter passes for a hermit of
Venetia. And I have also read, somewhere, that the relics of
the bodies of these two saints are in the church of St. Stephen's,
at old Breysach (Mons Brisacus). These relics were trans-
ported hither by the Emperor Frederick I. (1152 — 1190),
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 181
architecture of wood, which, in days of old, was usual, of
course not merely in Switzerland ; it was general, even
throughout Greece. The temple of Poseidon Hippius, at
Mantinea, was of wood (Paus. viii. 10,2). Oaken columns
were in the Heraeum (v. 16). At Dodona, the image had
its place in a hollow tree. The temples of the Etruscans
were, probably, also of wood.
Potter, in his Grecian antiquities (speaking of the
buildings of Athens), says, the Pelasgi taught the Greeks
the art of building houses of lime and stone. In the time
of Croesus, the houses of Sardis were built of clay and
straw.
The royal palace of Zengis was of wood ; and so the
house of Fingal, where the heroes prepared their own re-
past, and sat around the light of the burning oak,168 the wind
" lifted their locks, and whistled through their open halls."
The first bridge in Rome (Pons Sublicius) was of wood.
Strabo (IV. i., p. 56) tells us, that the Gauls inhabited
large houses built of planks and clay, and finished in a
rising roof, upon which they heaped a quantity of thatch.
The Irish had splendid buildings ; but these structures were
of timber, and so it was among other Keltic tribes.
An interesting description of an old Irish timber house,
discovered about sixteen feet below the original surface of
a bog, in the county of Donegal, is given in Eraser's Maga-
zine, January, 1854. It is observed, that the tool marks on
the wood, indicate that it was wrought with the rudest im-
plements, and the labour bestowed upon it must have been
immense. Even as late as the thirteenth century, dis-
tinguished citizens lived in wooden houses, at the town of
Schaffhausen.
However, it by no means follows, that houses were al-
168 So it was in the palace of Ulysses (Odys. xviii.305).
VOL. XIX. B B
182 NUMISMATIC GHRON7ICLE.
ways erected of this material in those days; for where
wood was scarce, arid stone abundant, they were made of
stone.
When St. Patrick went up to the place which is called
Foirrgea, to divide some territory among the sons of Awley,
he built there a quadrangular church of clay,16y because
wood was not at hand. In England, before Alfred's time
(who died A.D. 901), few royal palaces, or houses for divine
worship, were built of any other material than wood. I be-
lieve there is still one in existence in Essex — Greensted
church, near Chipping Ongar.
When St. Patrick (who died A.D. 492), who is saidtohave
introduced the Latin alphabet, erected the church of Saul, in
the county of Down ; it was called Sigibol Phadruig, or
Patrick's Barn, a name at once conveying to us its shape
and materials. The old chapel of Monenna, at Kilslive, in
the county of Armagh,'70 A.D. 630, was made of smoothed
timber, according to the Irish fashion.
At Ravenna, there was also the church of St. Andrew,
built in the fifth or sixth century, which had pillars made
of the walnut-tree, like those of a saloon in the Episcopal
palace. And there are still many very ancient wooden
churches in Norway.
The erection of the first stone castle, is recorded by the
Irish annalists as an extraordinary thing (it was called the
Beautiful House) even as late as the year 1161. It was the
castle of Tuani, erected by Roderick O'Connor, King of
Connaught ; the ruins are still to be seen. I do not know
Ifl9 Teagli-uire, in Irish, means a house of clay.
170 Cf. The Book of Armagh, fol. 14, a MS., written be-
tween the years 660 — 680.
A chair of literature was founded at Armagh, in the twelfth
century, by the brave King Roderick. In A.D. 444, St. Patrick
fixed his See at Armagh.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 183
whether this castle is one of the live ancient castles in the
county of Antrim, considered as the first stone and lirne
buildings in Ireland. Such constructions, however, as the'
well-known round towers of a remote period of Ireland's
halcyon days may be exceptions to this remark. They might
have originally served for different purposes, as well as, at a
later period, for places of worship,171 and also for nocturnal
observation of the celestial bodies, to watch the bright-eyed
" Ull-Kriri,"172 the guiding star of Ireland,
,,2>«r Srlanbet folflt DeS ©Iucfe3 ©tern,"1*3
as well as places of defence, containing a small garrison,
to watch, and to give information of approaching danger
to the surrounding countries, and also to communicate in
a telegraphic manner, either by fires, or otherwise, with
other similar towers, placed in sight in different direc-
tions, such as I have observed of great size and strength,
in the canton of the Valais, as having served for similar
purposes. It is even at present the custom of the canton of
Berne to communicate, in dangerous times, from the heights,
in the night by fire, and in the day by smoke. Considering
these towers also as places of worship, it may here be
observed, that there is scarcely a country in the world,
where some traces of the adoration of fire are not to be
found. Fires were preserved in most of the principal
temples, both Greek and barbarian. The sacred fire was
called by the Irish " Ur," and also "Adur" (Urian). A
title given by the Egyptians to the sun was Orus (Aurora).
Fires were lighted in Ireland on the summits of hills, in
honour of the sun, and many hills still retain the name of
171 At Aix-la-Chapelle there still exists an old tower, which bears
the name of Granus Tower (Grian, in Irish, the sun).
172 I believe " LJ11" means lovely (qy. UHes-water).
173 Schiller, Wallenstein's Lager.
184 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
" Conc-Greine," i.e., hills of the sun ; on many are yet seen
ruins of Druidical altars.174
In Switzerland, I have particularly inspected that fine
specimen of a round tower, upon the rock near Martigny,
and which possesses the singular feature of the original
entrance being towards the middle of the tower, which
is also not uncommon in the Irish round towers,17'5 and
which added to the security of the inmates.
One who had been accustomed to roam about many of
those round towers in Ireland in his boyhood, as well as
having seen them in his later years, told me that some of
them have their own wells inside, and in others he observed
recesses cut into the thick walls to serve probably as sleep-
ing places;176 and if^you ask any of the country people
about such a round tower, they, in general, answer you, it
is the castle — arguments in favour of the theory that
these round towers were built for defensive purposes.
With regard to the circumstance, that some of the round
towers in Ireland exhibit Christian symbols sculptured upon
them, we may as well allude to those upright stones,
sometimes so finely sculptured spread over great part
of Ireland, which als.o have representations of Christian
symbols. Now, I believe, that many of these are the re-
maining " Menhirs " of the Druids, which (Men-hir, stone
long) were afterwards used by early Christians for that
174 Caesar ascribes to the Germans three principal Deities they
worshipped, namely, the sun, the moon, and fire.
175 The very fine round tower at Devenish Island, about two
and a half miles from Enniskillen ; which is exactly circular, 69 feet
high to the conical converging at the top (which is 15 feet more),
and 48 feet in circumference, has the door elevated 9 feet above
the ground.
176 There is also a sort of chamber within the concentric
walls of the round tower (Burgh of Mousa) in Shetland. Hib-
bert, Descript. of Shetland, plate 6, fig. 8.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 185
sacred purpose, where their situation was convenient.
Some of them have on the top fixed a cross formed of four
equal lengths.
Several other similar round towers may be seen, on
elevations more or less distant up the Rhone, towards Sion,
the Keltic S it-dun, Sittin, Sead-im, i.e., high seat. Sithve
in Irish, means an establishment, a city — reminds one also
of the British Segodum, Seton. Sion (the German, Sitten),
was the Roman Sedunum, and the capital of the Keltic
Seduni. In Sithbhein, we have the name of one of the
round towers in Ireland, and Sithdrum was the ancient
name of the town of Cashel (Caisiol, implies also a house
built of lime and stone), forming, with three other towns,
an episcopal See ; and as the word " Sith " expresses places
established by the Druids for devotion, and is pronounced
See, hence from that, perhaps, the English See (the Diocess,,
Dioecesis) of a bishop may have been derived. In Sito-
magus, we have the town of Dunwich. By the way, I may
yet observe, that in the country of the Hauts Valaisians is
a glen, or small valley, called Val d'Erin, and a fine con-
spicuous snow-peak has the name of Dent d'Erin.
With regard to the name of the town of Sion, and the
people Seduni,177 it is well known, that by the name of
such and such a city, the ancient as well as the modern
Swiss (as likewise other people) did not only comprehend
habitations of men enclosed by walls, but also all persons
living in the environs, under the laws and protection
of the city, as the Bernese, the Genevese, the Zurcher,
Easier, etc.
Of Sion, we have Tremissi aurei, from the fifth and sixth
century, of the time of the Burgundians, who, as early as
A.D. 411, had already made an incursion into the Valais,
177 Pliny iii. 20.
186 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
where they martyrised Florentine of Sion. These Tremissi
are inscribed SIDVNIS. One in the British Museum has
SIDVNENSIVM CIVITATIS, and MVNVLFVS MONET A -
RIVS.1?8 gion is situated in the widest part of the Valais,
on the Rhodan, where a strangely formed rock rises, on
which were pinnacled three castles, mostly in ruins, named
Valeria, Turbilon, and Majorica. The old walls, towers,
and gates, bear- evident token of their past importance.
Sion became a Roman fortified boundary in that part of
Helvetia, after Caesar had made himself master of the pass
over the Great St. Bernard, and had subdued the primitive
inhabitants, the Seduni, Veragri, and Nantuatse. But the
incessant attacks of those wild mountaineers had challenged
again the superior arms of the Romans. Augustus, B.C. 16,
sent his step-son, Nero Claudius Drusus, who successfully
forced the passes of St. Gothard and the Brenner.
Apollonius of Rhodes (B.C. 200), seems to have had
notice of that part of the country : he says that the Rhodan
issues from one of the most hidden corners of the earth,
precipitating its waves into boisterous lakes, in the midst
of sad, melancholy Cantons, inhabited by the Kelts. The
Massilians had explored the course of the Rhone, as far as
its junction with the Saone (Herodotus) ; and, still guided
by the Rhone, they discovered this melancholy abode of
the Kelts, on the banks of a great lake, which they called
the Lake of the Wilderness. Some of the lofty mountains
they compared to the pillars of the sun (solis columnae). It
may be observed, that at Massilia, three diilerent languages
were spoken — the Greek, the Gallic, and the Latin ; not
unlike, as now at Brussels, where they speak Flemish,
French, and Walloon.
The Romans never came up as far as Brieg (bricca,
178 Formerly in the Pfistor Collection.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 187
Keltic ; a wild country, Brich-Alpe) into the Valais. The
wall they had built across, in order to shut out unsubdued
barbarians, stood six miles below Brieg, and Sion was their
last fortress.
In Roman history, the Helvetians are noticed for the first
time, little more than a century before our era.
Sion is an old bishoprick, of the period of the introduc-
tion of Christianity into that part of the country. It was
then under the bishop of Vienne (VRBS. VIENNA. CAPVT.
GALIE. on her coins) ; and, at a later period, it was
under the authority and supremacy of the Archbishop of
Lyons, which extended over all the churches of the vast
countries between the Alps and the Rhine ; and hence,
again, the well known inscription, PRIMA. SEDES, GALLI-
ARVM. on the episcopal coins of Lyons. The Archbishop
of Lyons is still styled "primas prirnatum.''
The earliest bishop who resided at Sion, seems to have
transferred his residence from Martigny, in A.D. 600 ; per-
haps, as early as in 580, as I have observed before. At the
synod of Aquileja, in A D. 381 ; and at another, held in Milan,
in 390, appears the signature of a Theodorus Episcopus
Octoduriensis (Martigny). In A.D. 802, Charlemagne gave to
St. Theodule, Bishop of Sion, the sovereignty of the Valais.
At a later period, the Bishop of Sion received the title of
Prince of the Empire, Bishop of Sion, and Count and
Prefect of the Valais. However, by degrees, the bishop
lost the greater part of his consequence ; his power was
much restricted, and his succession was determined by
public election. The land is divided by the population into
the Upper and Lower Valais. The Upper, a few miles
above Sion, is German : " quae ad Peninum ferunt, obsepta
gentibus semigermanis fuissent. Veragri incolac jugi ejus "
(Livy, xxi. 38); and became a gift of the Burgundian
king, Rudolph II., towards the tenth century, to the Bishop
188 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
of Sion, as tenant par-avail. The arms of the Canton
count seven stars, in an oblong divided field of red and
silver, alluding to the seven tithe offices in the Upper Valais,
namely, five German, Gombs, Brieg, Visp, Raron, and Leuk ;
and the two (called by the Germans, Welsh) Siders and Sion.
The Lower Valais (including Siders and Sion), Martigny ;
and St. Maurice is Welsh. It was held by the Counts of Savoy
as an imperial fief, the donation of Henry IV. (1056 — 1106).
In 1475, the Germans from the Upper Valais, obliged the
Count of Savoy to evacuate the country. From that
period, the mint of Sion revived under some of their
princely and warlike bishops, of which, one of the most
renowned was Matthew Schiner. His abilities as a poli-
tician were only equalled by his courage as a soldier, of
which honourable mention was made at the sanguinary con-
flict of Marignan.
Now, the immense round tower at Martigny (Forum
Claud ii Valensium Octodurensium, third century), accord-
ing to my humble judgment, really appears as a work of
that Keltic tribe, the Veragri, the present Bas Valaisians.
Strabo (iv. 5) says that these mountaineers of Keltic origin,
were already provided with fortified castles, before the
Roman invasion.178 Here I am reminded of the well
chosen Keltic fort of Ardoch, in Scotland, county of
Stirling, which was also occupied by the Romans in the
third year of Agricola. Hence, it appeared to me, when
on the spot, at Martigny, that the Roman Castrum, of
which I observed several fine remains of arches, built of
178 An interesting account of remains of Keltic fortifications in
the territory of the " Ubii," about Cologne, etc., has been lately
given by M. von Waldbriihl, in the Cologne newspaper, 21st
March, 1857. The British Museum possesses a Solidus, in gold,
of Theodebertus, king of Austrasia, A.D. 534 — 538. it shows,
on the reverse, the letters COL. V., which I read " Colonia
Ubiorum."
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 189
tufa, was joined by Augustus to that round tower, to secure
the road over the Pennine Pass (the Great St. Bernard179).
Caesar mentions the place as " Vicus Veragrorum positus
in valle, non magna adjecta planitie, altissimis montibus
undique, contentus (de B. G., lib.iii. 1).
In the whole circuit of the former Octodurum, one meets
many and considerable ruins of old walls and buildings,
capitals of columns, and other fragments of fine workmanship.
Coins of all sizes and metals; Roman Imperial, from Julius
Caesar to Honorius, as well as Consular, Greek, and Punic
are found there.180
There exists still the greater part of the outer wall of a
Roman amphitheatre, of which the area was sown with
corn when I was there, and by a successive vegetation
raised far above its original level. 1 obtained, on the spot,
several Roman coins, from some labourers; one was a
large brass of Faustina Junior. The great round tower at
Martigny reminds me of the tower at the town of Cork,
which surely was not built as a belfry for the ancient little
church of Finbar (founded in the sixth century) but that
the church was annexed to the tower. Another one of
these granite-built round towers we have in the vale of
Glendalough, its height is 110 feet, and its circumference
51 ! Now, will any body make me believe that this
mighty structure was also built for a bell tower of one of
those little early Christian churches of the sixth and seventh
centuries? Besides, the masonry of most of these round
towers is greatly superior to that of the little church an-
nexed to it. The stones of the towers are large, regular,
and well dressed, and those of the churches are the con-
trary. I may yet allude to the well-known fact, that the
179 The Little St. Bernard, Mons Graius, the Graian Alps,
from the Keltic " graig," a rock.
180 Haller, die Helvetier unter den Romern, ii. p. 530.
VOL. XIX. C C
190 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
early Christians built their churches, if not generally, at
least very often, on places occupied before as places of
worship by the Gentiles.
I refer those who propose to convert the mighty round
towers of Ireland into belfries, to M. Victor Hugo, for a
curious description of an ancient bell-tower (Le Rhin). He
says, " Le brave architecte a pris un bonnet carre de pretre
ou d' avocat. Sur ce bonnet carre il a echafaude un sala-
dier renverse; sur le fond de ce saladier devenu plate-
forme, il a pose un sucrier ; sur le sucrier une bouteille ; sur
la bouteille un soleil emmanche dans le goulot par le rayon
inferieur vertical ; et enfin, sur le soleil, un coq embroche
dans le rayon vertical superieur." Of the round martello
towers, an Irishman said, that they were built for the pur-
pose of puzzling posterity.
Early Christian churches have bell-gables, such as I have
seen in the Pyrenees. However, it is known that bell-
towers in Europe were already built in the ninth century.
The ringing of church bells (being consecrated objects)
kept off the Devil and witches in those days of super-
stition when old women gave suck to young devils.
One of the bells181 of the cathedral of Geneva has in-
scribed " VOX MEA CVNCTORVM FIT TERROR DAE-
MONIORVM," date 1407. Plutarch observes, that there
was a belief that the sound of the Sistrum frightened away
Typhon, and warded off the evil principle.182 In the in-
181 To the English " Bell," I may compare the German
"Schelle"; and to the Irish " Chloca" (plu. Chlocaibh) again
the German " Glocke."
182 Lord Lindsay, on Christian Churches, vol. ii. 10, observes,
the monsters that support the pillars of the porch on Lombard
churches, stand there as talismans to frighten away evil spirits.
The architect of the Cathedral of Berne, had the satisfaction to
see it finished during his lifetime. Now, in order to frighten
away malignant criticism (which had arisen), he had sculptured
in bas-relief, on the north side of the building, these words,
They still remain as sharp as ever.
JOURNAL OP A TRAVELLER. 191
terior of Switzerland (the Waldstetten), the churches had
no bells; the parishioners were summoned by the sound of
the wooden horn of the Alps, until towards the thirteenth
century. Mahomet adopted the human voice for summon-
ing Moslems to prayers.
The castrum at Martigny has been restored and occupied
again and again by Goths, Burgundians, and Franks, until
it was occupied by the house of Savoy. I may here also
mention, that in the beginning of the tenth century, bands,
indifferently called Saracens, Arabs, or Hungarians, invaded
some parts of Switzerland, and committed dreadful ravages.
During the predatory incursions of the Saracens, who occu-
pied, from A.D. 929 to 978, most passes over the Alps into
Italy, they built or restored castles, and many names in the
country, such as Maurmont, Mauro-forte, and the Mur des
Sarasins, near Avenches (A.D. 926 — 927), still testify of
these eastern visitors.183 The Tour de Gorge, on the
neighbouring hill of Cully, is attributed to that period.
The student of history will remember the manner in which
the Saracens fortified themselves in the Roman amphi-
theatre, at Nismes, against Charles Martel.
For the etymology of the name of the Veragri, we may
refer to the Irish Fear, warrior, the Caledonian Vergo-
bretus (Fear-go-breath), the chief of the expedition, Ver-
cingetorix,zic>. In lower Bretagne, Ver, great; Vergobre-
tus, the highest judge.
These Veragri venerated Hercules in their town of
Oc-to-dur (Octodurum Veragrorum, Octodurus, Civitas
Valensium). When Caesar was in Gallia (B.C. 57 — 56),
he sent Servius Galba with the twelfth legion and some
cavalry to the Nantuates, Veragri, and Seduni, under the
183 Dr. Ferdinand Keller, Der Einfall der Sarazenen in die
Schweitz, Zurich, 1855.
192 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
pretext of opening and facilitating the pass over the Great
St. Bernard to the merchants who were accustomed to
travel at great risk, and on payment of great tolls.
Galba, successful in different engagements against those
mountaineers, who fought desperately for their liberty,
"Devota morti pectora libera" (Horat. Od. iv. 14, v.I8),
had determined to make his winter quarters in Octodurum,
backed by the high road over the Great St. Bernard (Sum-
mum184 Penninum), towards Ivrea and Milan. He had
sent two cohorts into the country of the Nantuates, intend-
ing to winter with the remaining cohorts at Octodurus,185
which town is situated on the left bank of the Rhone, near
the great bend which that river makes after descending
the longitudinal valley between the Pennine Alps (Vallis
Pennina, Valesia). It has no great extent of level ground
near it, and is confined on all sides by lofty mountains.
Caesar says, that the town of Octodurus was divided
into two parts by a river (Drance, Dur-ance) ; but he does
not mention the river's name, a branch of which rises at
the foot of the Great St. Bernard, and joins the left bank of
the Rhone at Martigny. The lower part of this valley,
between Octodurus and the head of Lacus Lemanus, into
which the Rhone flows, was occupied by the Nantuates,
with Agaunum (Tarnais, St. Maurice), their principal town,
and other places, such as Bactiacum (Bex), Ala, (Aigle)
and Hibernum (Yvorne). The following important in-
18* Summanus was a Deity, to whom nocturnal ligntning was
attributed, and Augustinus de Civit. Dei, iv. 23, says, that the
Etruscans honoured him more than Jupiter. Near Aguvium
(Eugubium, Gubbio), was a famous temple, dedicated to Jupiter
Penninus. Lanzi, iii. p. 638.
IBS « Constituit cohortes duas in Nantuatibus collocare; ipse
cum reliquis ejus legionis (Duodecimo) cohortibus in vico
Veragorum, qui appellatur Octodurus, hiemare " (Caes. de Bell.
Gall., lib. iii. cap. 1).
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 193
scription had been found at Agaurium, erected by the
Nantuates, to the Emperor Augustus, B.C. 23.
IMPER. CAESARI.
DIVI F. AVGVSTO.
COS. XI. TRIBVN. POTEST.
PONTIFICI. MAXIMO.
NANTVATES. PATRONO.
By the word Nantuates, was understood a people who
live in an aqueous, marshy country. Nant is a Keltic word
for a brook in a wood : the word exists yet in the patois of
Savoy. We find the Nant d'Arpenas, a cascade near St.
Maurice, also, Nant-Orli. About Chamounix, are num-
bers of brooks of the name of Nant ; as Nant de la Griaz,
Nant de Borgeat, Nant de Taverau, and Born-Nant. The
diminutive of Nant is Nantyn. In the Canton Neuchatel,
we have yet the Val de Nant. In Wales, again, we have
the beautiful vale of Nant-Gwynant (the vale of the
waters), Nant-Beris, Nant-Colwin, Nant-Frangon, Nant-
Conwy, Nant-y-Flint, Nant-y-Bela, Pen-nant-melengell, and
Pen-nant-Llan-vehangel.186
There are, also, the French towns of Nantuacum (Nantue),
Nantuates (Nanteuil), Nannetes (Nantes), etc.
Galba fortified himself with a ditch and rampart, and
thought he was safe. However, the united Seduni and
Veragri, anxious for the safety of their sons, or friends, who
were in the Roman camp as hostages, suddenly attacked
Galba before his defences were complete, and all his sup-
plies brought in. The Romans obstinately defended them-
selves in a fight of six hours ; when, seeing that they could
not longer keep the enemy out, they set fire to the town,
and made a successful sortie. After this escape, Galba
186 More such native Welsh rabbits, or rare bits, we have in
Llanfairmathafarneithaf, Llangristiolus, etc. ; Sesquipedalian words
which rival long German names.
194 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
prudently withdrew his troops; and, marching through
the country of the Nantuates, reached the land of the
Allobroges (Savoy and Dauphine), well known for their
fidelity to the Romans, where he wintered. In the
following spring, Galba completed their subjection. They,
retained, however, the privilege of being governed by their
own magistrates, and enjoyed, also, the advantages of
Roman citizenship. " Sunt Latio donati incolae Octodu-
renses " (Pliny iii., c. 20). It seems the Valesians retained
their warlike disposition : few conquests were more dearly
purchased by the French in 1798 and 1799, than those of
the Valais.
The more we go on gathering together words of Keltic
origin, which subsist in the different dialects, or idioms in
the names of provinces, mountains, rivers, towns, and
boroughs, the more we are convinced, that most habitations,
towns, etc., were built or established by the Helvetians, and
not by Romans.
In Zurich, we have the Dur-i-ac, Turiacum, Turicum
which alludes to its situation (like Aventicum) on the lake,
as well as on the river.
With regard to the name of the great Roman Vitodurum,
Vitudurum, the town of Winterthur, situated, as well as
Solothurn, in Maxima Sequanorum ; we have the Keltic
Vito-dur, which according to some signifies spring water.
For my part, I beg to suggest the still preserved name of
the small river on which that town is situated, namely, the
Eulach, i.e., the Owl-brook, or water.
Now, in Gaelic, we have Fit-he-ach, the raven,187 Raven's-
187 In Scotland, plain of Murray, a sort of hooded crow, is
called feannag ; and lochlannach, in Gaelic, is a sort of wild
goose. It appears, that to a Dane, a nickname was given, calling
him lochlonnach.
JOURNAL OP A TRAVELLER. 195
brook ? Of course, this can also be considered as Fit-he-dur,
the Romans transforming the / into v, as we have it in
Fetluna and Felatri, in Etruria, etc. Hence, this would
give us in Fit-he-ach, or Fit-he-dur, the name of Vitodur,
which signifies the town on the raven's brook. Strabo
(lib. iv., c. 6, p. 198) alludes to a lake in the Keltic Alps,
joining the ocean, which was called the " Lake of the Two
Ravens." A rivulet, near Richterswiel, bears the name of
Krah-bach, i.e., crow's-brook; another is called Wolf-
bach.188 We have, also, a Barenbacb, in Nassau; at
Hamburgh, the Alster ; and at Leipzig, the Elster, which
signifies the magpie. In England, we have the Ravens-
bourne, which runs into Deptford Creek.
Besides, many other rivers have the name of animals ;
such as Biber (beaver) -ach, Ur-ach, Ram-ach, etc. ; and,
hence, castles, villages, and towns, situated on them, bear
often the same name. The Tigris is now called Chazir, i.e.,
wild boar ; the Rumelus, a mountain torrent, is termed by
the Kurds, Chazir-zu, wild-boar water.
The Roman town of Vindonissa (Windisch in the Canton
of Argau), appears to me the Keltic Fin-dun-uish, that
signifies the town, the fort, on the white, the light-coloured
water, or stream. We have only to instance the name of
the capital of Ireland. What does jts etymology signify
but its situation, namely on the black or dark water
" Dubh-linn ? " t89 There is also the Dhu-lough, the black
lake, near Fairhead. In Wales, we have a Rhos-Vynach,
and a Fynnon-Vair (well of the lady). Many rivers in
iss « rjie Ortsnamen des Kantons Zurich," by Dr. Heinrich
Meyer. Zurich, 1849. Nos. 661 and 704.
189 The Welch have it in Du-lyn. I should not wonder if the
name of Dover has the same meaning in Devonia and Dubris,
namely, " Dubh-avon," or " Dubh-uise."
196 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Switzerland are distinguished and named by their colour,
either black, grey, or white.
In Uisc, Uisg, Ushg (diminut. Uisgean), we have another
of the many names for water in Keltic, as observed already
by the names of Vevey and Wiesbaden, as well as in the
river Wisper (Nassau), and the little port of Lausanne,
Uchy.190 Wyske is a rivulet in Yorkshire ; and a large
stream in Monmouthshire, goes also under the name of
Wysk. Wyske was the ancient name of the river Wise,
in Baden, so beautifully sung of by the poet Hebel.
Then we have the foaming torrent of the Wisp, in the
valley of the Fee, in the Alps. Comar-tri-n-iiisge, is the
denomination of the three waters, the rivers Suir, Nore,
and Barrow, near Waterford. With regard to the Keltic
word Fin, it stands for white, or light-coloured ; we have
only to compare the Fin-gals191 (Irish tribes, Fenic192) to
the Dubh-gals (of Scotland), namely, the fair and the dark
Gaels.193 Some Highlanders call themselves Na-fian ; and
between places of the names of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, we
have the river Finn. The Teutonic u Doove" is for dark,
or heavy-coloured, and the Keltic is Dubh,194 Duv, Dev ;
in Wales, and in the Highlands of Scotland, it is Ddu and
Dhu. These cognate words have given the name of Deil,
Tiel,1"5 Teufel. We may here as well refer again to the
190 In the Pas de Calais, the small town of Aucht was the
Keltic Alciniacum.
191 Fin M'Caul, Fin-mac-gaul, Fingal. In the East, the
"mac" appears in "ben," Ali-ben-yusuf, Ali, son of Joseph.
192 The Irish dialect, " Bearla-Feni."
193 In Ireland now-a-days, a favourite (boy of the family)
is called the White-headed. Black-a- vised expresses a dark
featured person.
194 Dabrona, black water (Ireland).
195 « Methocht, the Devil's as black as pik " (William Dunbar,
The Swearers and the Devil).
We may yet mention the Davos Lake (black lake) in the
Alpine region.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 197
name of Dublin (Dubhlin), because we read on its coins
of the tenth century, " Difli " (time of King Anlaf ). Dub-
lin was partly destroyed by the Danes, in A.D. 944.
In the oldest documents of the Convent de St. Gall,
occur many names of Irish monks, such as Dubwin, Dub-
slan, Dubduin. The name of Fin we often observed in the
list of early Irish kings ;ly6 and the patron saint of the
cathedral of Cork is Fin-bar, i.e., white headed (his real
name was Lachan, about A.D. 630). We have also an
Irish monk of the name of Findan, who regulated the
convent of Rhinau, in Switzerland. The Irish called the
Norsemen (the Danes) white strangers ; this reminds one
of the Finlanders.
In the name of the Swiss town of Solothurn, Soleure, the
Roman Solodurum (Solodurense, Castrurn, Vicus Solo-
dori, Solodurus Pagus), which is situated on the river
Aar (Arula), we have the Keltic Sol-dur,197 or Solidur,
by which is understood the Aqua-solis, corresponding
again with the French towns of Sol-acum (Sonnai) and
Soli-acum (Souilhac) ; it expresses likewise a similar
meaning in the name of Bellach (Bellay), a village near
Solothurn, and known by the Romans as Bellas aquae,
A.D. 219.
We have a Beleniacum in the south of France (Lot).
Other varieties are in the Keltic Bel-ain-uisg, Polliniac,
Polligny (Aj:ollini aquee). There is a Sanodurum on the
Rhine, a Solona (Citta del Sole) in the Romagna. In the
environs of Atri is the river Salinello, the ancient Helvius.
196 Finchad, Fiatach-Fin, Olil-Fin, Aengus-Finn, Aid-Fin,
Fiach-Finnschothach, etc.
'97 Plato has observed, that the names of fire and water
(vdwp), as of many other words, came from the Barbarians,
" multa nomina Graecos a Barbaris habuisse" (Plato in Cratylo.
Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. i.).
VOL. XIX. D D
198 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The Irish have also the Sol in Hiol and Hiaul. In Castile,
is the town of Solis. Soillse corresponds with the Gaelic
Sa6ellsh'-sha, which means light of the sun.
Tremisses aurei of the sixth century, struck at the town
of Sonnai, are inscribed SOLONACO, and ERNOALDVS
MO (Monetarius) ; others have SOLNACO.^s
On Bracteate coins of Solothurn, of the thirteenth cen-
tury, the head of St. Ursus is represented as patron saint.
In an old Italian book, the name of which has slipped my
memory, I found that St. Ursus was an officer in the The-
ban legion, and that he was martyred before the Temple of
the Sun, at Solothurn (fu martirizzato innanzi al tempio
o torre — del sole a Soleure).
At Bellay, near Solothurn, many antiquities have been
found. And, in the summer of 1854, in the same neigh-
bourhood (at Granichen, Granus, god of the sun), extensive
and solid mosaic floors have been dug out, together with
some Roman utensils, and bricks bearing the cipher of the
21st legion. To the Aquae Bellas, near Sololhurn, we may
compare inscriptions which occur at Autun, such as Fonti
Beleno, whence, it appears, that this god had a temple over
a warm medicinal spring, which was consecrated to him as
the giver, or restorer of health. We have also the warm
fcath of Belluno (Apollo Belenus), in the district of Treviso
(Apollo was believed by the Celts to heal diseases).
Near Solothurn is also a forest, called Attisholz (i.e.,
Attiswood, Attis, Atys) ; Belenus — Adad, means, in old
Persian, the sun, and the Egyptians had Sal-Atis.
M. Bochat (ii. p. 369) gives quotations from Arnobius and
Macrobius, to shew that under the name of Attis, the sun
was also worshipped, a Attidem cum nominamus, Solem
Revue Numismatique, 1847, pl.v. fig. 8.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 199
significamus ; " and again, " Sol nominibus Attinis sive
Attidis colitur" (Saturn. lib.i. cap. 21).
There is likewise an elevation near Solothurn called
Hermes Buhel.1^
(£8 $og bie atte Jhmbe;
£ief liegt in jenem 3Balb
3n grimer dicfyen Sftunbe
din <§tetnfntb, tyetyr unb alt.
I may, perhaps, mention the formerly large town of
Solimariaca(Solicia, Solencensis Pagus), near the village of
Soulosse, situated on the borders of the Departments de la
Meurth and des Vosges. The Keltic coins of this place
represent on one side a female bust, the tutelar genius,
Solima, Solimara, of the town; and on the reverse, a
galloping horse ; they are inscribed SOLIMA.200
Some of the bas-reliefs found at the old Solimariaca,
which are said to have formed the anterior part of Keltic
tombs, have been destroyed, and the reason is given in the
following excusable manner : — " II y a quelques annees que
des femmes du village de Soulosse, ayant mis au monde des
enfans fort laids, en chercherent la cause dans les regards
qu' elles avaient jetes durant leur grossesse sur ces bas-
reliefs. Leurs epoux s' en emurent, et d'apres 1'autorisation
du magistrat, on envoya sur les lieux un rna9on qui, a
coups de marteau, detruisit entierement les figures des
personnages."
With regard to Roman inscriptions, bearing also the
name of Salodurum, we have only to reflect, that in the
East, the most common name for the sun was San, and
Son, Zan, Zon. The Babylonian name was Saon, and
*99 Reminds one of Odyssey x. 47 1 .
200 Beaulieu, Archeologie de la Lorraine, vol. i. p. 174 — 177,
Paris, 1840.
200 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Samas201 (Sama, Punic, the heavens). In Ireland, the
name of the sun occurs also as " Samb " (Sambra, sum-
mer). By the Phoenicians, it was Zaunam, under which
name they worshipped Adonis, or the sun, Bel-ador, Ador-
san, Sol, the Lord of Light. Bel, or Belin, here considered
as Lord, may be found in the names of the British Kings,
Cuno-beline and Cassi-velan, as well as in the name of
several Assyrian Kings, like Belitaras, Bel-Kat-irassou
(the Lord has strengthened my hand) ; or, Irib-akhi-Bel
(the Lord has multiplied the brothers).
The Philistines fastened the body of Saul to the wall of
Beth-san, the house or temple of the sun (in Gaelic, Tuir
Beil, Tower of Baal). We have also the name of San-
sannah, as a city in Canaan (Joshua xv.31). The fine waters
at yEnon, where John was baptised, were called Salem.
The same name occurs as a town in Palestine, which was
rendered Sonam by Eusebius.
The Kelts feared and worshipped the physical powers
of nature. Thus the ideas of God and Religion sprang
from physical objects. In Caledonia and Ireland, as well
as by other branches of the great Keltic nation, that
universal god of the heathen world, the Sun, was wor-
shipped, even as late as the sixth century. " The sun," says
the apostle of Ireland, Saint Patrick, " which we behold, is
ordained by the will of God to rise daily for us, but never
shall it rule, nor shall its splendour endure, but all those
who adore it shall, in misery and wretchedness, descend
into punishment" (Confess. p. 22).
With this idolatry, the early Irish divines had to struggle
in Switzerland, when converting the Helvetii to Chris-
tianity, and their forests into fertile lands. For these par-
201 Samdan, the Assyrian Hercules (Sam-u-el).
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 201
ticular merits, are mentioned St. Columban and St. Gallus,
the latter of whom died A.D. 640, at Arbon, in Thurgau
(Arbona, Arbor-Felix), at the age of ninety-five. It is said
that he was the son of Ketternach, a king of Scotland. Both
these distinguished men came to Switzerland, or were
already at Zurich, in A.D. 610. The Convent of St. Gall
was founded in A.D. 614.
Of those Irish monks, it is stated, that they seldom
travelled alone in Switzerland ; that they were provided
with long staves, leather wallets and bottles (flasconnes),
and made use of wax tablets (pugillares Scotorum) for
writing.
Christianity had already spread out in Callia, since
Constantine the Great (308 — 337) ; and it is pretty nearly
ascertained, that in Helvetia, also, a good many disciples
and preachers of the Gospel, as likewise different com-
munities existed, whose administrators were called Episcopi.
It may be mentioned, that at Aventicum alone, there had
been already twenty -two Episcopi before St. Marius.
From this number of bishops, we may conclude that they
had begun to bear this dignity under the Roman Emperors,
at least, since Constantine the Great. They lie all buried
under the ruins of Aventicum.202
At the synod of Aquileia, in A.D. 381, there was the
signature of Theodoras Episcopus Octodurensis (Mar-
tigny), as stated before.
The Christians succeeding the Druidic hierarchy, con-
formed rather too readily to the prejudices of their converts,
and consecrated the circuit of the grove anew to religion,
and called it simply " Doir," the oak. Thus Columban
founded, towards the end of the sixth century, two cele-
202 Miiller, Geschiclite der Schweitz, i. p. 149.
202 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
brated monasteries ; one in the oaken grove, in the town
of Derry ; the other at Doir-magh (the field of oaks), in the
Kings County. There are many others, as Doire-more,
Dore-arda, etc. Some were named Kil-doire, Kil-derry,
from being constructed in groves of oak. Bishop Unwan,
of Bremen, transformed in his diocese, twelve of those
silvae sacrae into churches.803
The Romans supposed that Jupiter was worshipped by
the Kelts, under the symbol of an oak. u Jovem Keltse
colunt; Jovis autem apud eos simulacrum alta quercus
est."204
The Highlanders of Scotland, however, go to the
clachans, meaning the stone circle, when they are going to
the church or kirk.
It may be observed, that it was from national assemblies,
Ecclesia, Kyriace, that the Christia Ecclesia (Eglise,
Chiesa, Kirk, Church), etc., took its name. In Hebrew,
kiriah means, that which is surrounded by a wall. I noticed
in the Grissons, in the word baselga (Basilica), an exception.
More towards the interior of Switzerland, in the Wald-
stetten, there were, previous to the twelfth century, very
few churches or chapels, and those were only visited ten or
twelve times during the course of the year.
The Burgundian king, Sigismundus, had founded, in
A.D. 515, at Agaunum, the famous monastery of St.
Maurice,205 upon the ruins of a temple of Isis. It appears
that the most ancient name of Agaunum, which, by-the-bye,
extended as far as the little village of Mason, was Taranais,
203 Adam of Bremen, Hist. Eccles.lib.ii.c.33.
204 Maximus Tyrius, dis.38.
205 Sigismund may have only enlarged or restored it; since
the name of St. Severus, as abbot of this monastery, occurs as
early as the year 506. The lance of St. Maurice was kept there:
it was the ensign of the Burgundian state.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 203
Taranda; and later, also, Castrum Taurodunense. In
Tyrol, we have the Tarantsberg, Donnersberg; and the
Pass of the Splugen (Spelunca), had also the Keltic name of
Tarvesedun. It is generally supposed, that this most
ancient name of Taranais, or Taranda, for the present St.
Maurice, alludes to the Keltic god of thunder and light-
ning, Taranydd, the thunderer ;206 Taranais ; Thor ; the
Egyptian Or, light ; the old Phoenician 'Ur, god of light ;
the Hebrew Urim. However, as the abbey of St. Maurice
was built upon the ruins of a temple of Isis, we may just as
well allude, also, to the name of Tar-anis, a female deity
(an Artemis), of which Lucan (i., v. 439) speaks, and who
could be pacified only by human sacrifices.207 " Et quibus
immitis placatur sanguine diro Teutates, horrensque feris
altaribus Hesus, Et Taranis Scythicae non initior ara
Dianae." The statue of Diana Taurica was brought by
Orestes to Lacedaemon. Human sacrifices were offered to
her, which, it is pretended, Lycurgus abolished. It is
curious, that in another name given to this Diana Taurica,
we meet also with the allusion to Och. When Medea,
after her flight from Colchis, arrived at Ithaca, she an-
nounced to the assembled people, that the goddess Oreil-
ochia (Diana), had arrived from the country of the
Hyperboraeans (Chersonesus Taurica), for the happiness
of mortals (Anton. Lib. c. 27).
The name of Agaunum is also Keltic, and alludes to its
situation between steep and lofty precipices. Coun, gaun,
signifies a rock (in ancient Brit., cwn), as well as a castle,
206 in Welsh, taran, thunder; taranu, to thunder; in Gaelic,
tomin.
207 In some of the South Sea islands, the name of God is
Artua; Boora-Artuas, pray to gods.
NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
a fort, where the Rhone (ag] gushes forth from the Valais,208
and enters the swampy plain, formed by the deposit of its
retarded current; and, hence, the name of Agaun '.
Agaunum is comparable to Gaunissa, Gaun-uisge, fortifica-
tion near the water, the river. In Canton Appenzell,
certain rocks are still called Gauno, Gaundor. We have,
also, the town of Agenum (Agen), in Guienne.
At Pavia, an altar has been found, dedicated to Jupiter
Agganai ; which name may be allied to Ag-deas, Agdis,
the Kelto-Iberian Baal of the holy river.209
The monastery was founded in honour of St. Maurice,
and his companions, the martyrs of the Theban legion,
sent from Egypt, by Diocletian, towards the Rhine, in aid
of his associate in the Empire, Valerius Maximus (286 —
305). The building was considered, at that time (A.D. 515)
a u minim opus," to which erection, the bishop Maximus,
of Geneva, largely contributed ;21or and among all the
religious houses in Helvetia, none can boast of so remote
an antiquity as that of St. Maurice.
Sigismund endowed it with corn-fields and vineyards in
the Pays de Vaud, in the plain of Geneva, and as far as
Vienne, on the Lower Rhone ; as, likewise, with the town
208 The Romans built the bridge over the Rhone, at St.
Maurice ; and which was, in former times, the only carriage way
into the Valais.
2°9 The Water Deity of the Kelts was ever regarded with
alarm, on account ot his destructive propensities. A Teutonic
name was awarded to him of Nocka, Nicur (old Nick — necare),
or Necker.
Altini refers the name AGGANAI to the Latin agger. — See
Sulle Antiche Lapidi Ticincse. Pavia, 1831.
210 This bishop appears to have been kind and generous in
general. I have observed, somewhere, that Avitus, Archbishop
of Vienne, who died in A.D. 525, in a letter, thanks his friend
Maximus, Bishop of Geneva, for the good fish of his lake, which
he had sent him.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 205
of Salins, in Upper Burgundy, and several woods and
pastures in the Valais, and in the Vale of Aosta.
According to the golden Tremisses, struck at the Abbey,
in the sixth and seventh century, it is possible that the king
gave also to the monks, the privilege of coining. Sigis-
mund, who had been the assassin of half a score of near
relations, was himself at last taken prisoner at the Abbey,
in A.D. 527, and put to death. His queen jand two sons,
were taken by Chlodomir, and beheaded at Orleans.
After the death of Sigismund and his family, Godomar,
his brother, took refuge in the mountains of Helvetia ; and,
after the Franks had retired, he took possession of a great
part of that country which was under the rule of his
brother. Chlodomir, in an attempt to extinguish this
reaction, was killed by Godomar in battle, at Veseronce,
near Vienne. Godomar maintained himself in his kingdom
for several years ; until, in A.D. 534, a new invasion of
Franks, directed by Childebert and Chlotair, destroyed
the power of the Burgundians.
Tremisses aurei exist of Godomar, struck at Lyons. It
was Sigismund who established the royal residence and
Mint of Burgundy, at Lyons. In A.D. 419, the Pennine
Valais, at that time called Valinsa, with Octodurum as the
principal place, had been annexed to the Province of
Vienne.211
The monks of St. Maurice, thus richly endowed, gradu-
ally relaxed from their strict discipline, and the habits of
frugality and industry that became them : they preferred
hounds and hunting to the duties of the choir, and the
inspection of their domestic concerns ; and each lavished,
individually, the revenues of the convent. Amadeus III.,
211 In A.D 439, the Burgundians were already in Savoy (time
of Valentinian III).
VOL. XIX. E E
.o NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Count of Savoy, who had, in A.D. 1136, acquired a great
ascendancy in these parts of the country, undertook to cor-
rect these disorders.
Part of the Lower Valais, St. Maurice, Thonon (Dina),
Evian, and including also, on the other side of the lake, the
town of Nion, had been erected into the Duchy of Chablais
(Caballiacensis Ducatus, Caballicus Ager, alluding probably
to the former Equestris, or Nion212).
In A.D. 1032, Count-Humbert de Maurienne, received of
the Emperor Conrad II., the Caballicus Ager, which, in
1064, was. subject to the illustrious House of Savoy. In
1138, Amadeus IV., was created a Duke of Chablais, by
the Emperor Frederick II. In 1239, Amadeus V. presented
the territory of St. Maurice to his sister, Margherite,
Countess of Kiburg, but not the right of the Mint.213
To Louis II., of the House of Savoy, who styled himself
Count de Vaud, the town of Nion belonged, in right of the
ample freeholds and feudal rights which, in 1260, the House
of Savoy possessed in the Pays de Vaud, under Count
Peter,214 to whom the castle and town of Nion had been
given as an inalienable fief, by the Archbishop of Besan9on,
in A.D. 1272.
In 1295, the Bishop of Lausanne, Guillaume de Champ-
212 The Spanish Caballero, heavy horse cavalier, from the
Keltic caballus, Gaelic capull, or Irish capall. The ancient name
of the town of Chalons- sur-Saone, was Caballodunum.
2»3 (Cibario, della Economica Politica del Medio Evo. p. 487.)
The British Museum possesses a coin of Chablais of that period : it
is inscribed CHABLASII. DVX. Reverse : a temple, and PIANA
RELIGO (Christiana Religio) . [Formerly in the Pfister Collection.]
214 He died at the Chateau Chillon, in 1286, at the age of
sixty-six. When he was called away to his old dominions, the
Pays de Vaud was governed in his absence by his lieutenant or
bailiff. A French writer observes : " Quand le Comte surnomme
le Petit Charlemagne fut demand^ d'exhibiter ses titres sur le
Pays de Vaud, il montra son epee."
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 207
vent, was at war with Louis I., Count de Vaud.215 Coins
which have the title as Seigneur de Vaud, still exist ; but
M. le Chevalier Promis,216 seems rather inclined to attribute
them to Louis II. (1302 — 1350). They are inscribed
LVDOVIC D6 SABAVDIA DOMINVS VAVDI TVTI
(tutoris).
Spon, the worthy historian of the town of Geneva, ob-
serves: "L'annee 1308, fut remarquable par quelques
brouilleries,qu'eurent ensemble Loiiys de Savoye, Seigneur
de Vaux, avec 1'Evesque (of Geneva), Celui la faisoit battre
monnoye dans Nion, diocese de Geneve ; ce que PEvesque
ne voulut pas souffrir," etc.
The monastery of St. Maurice (as stated before) also
possessed estates in different parts of the Pays de Vaud,
intermixed with others belonging to the Counts of Genevois
(Gebennensis Ducatus), of which Annecy (Annesiacum)
was the capital, situated on Lacus Annecius, about seven-
teen miles north of Chambry.217
In 1011, Eldegard, Countess of Genevois, made a dona-
tion to the church of Versovy, which was situated in Pagus
Equestricus; and, in 1124, Aymon, Count de Genevois,
founded the abbey of Bon-mont, near Nion. In 1257,
Versovy, St. Loup, Commanies, and other places, are men-
tioned as having been exchanged by them on Savoy, in
1350. It appears, that Catherine, Dame de Vaud (the only
child of Louis II., who had no children by her three hus<
bands) sells her feudal rights, in 1359, to Amadeus VI.
(Comte Vert), for the sum of 160,000 gold florins.
The earliest coins of Lausanne which we can trace, are
215 He died at Naples in 1302, at the age of fifty-two.
216 Promis. Monete dei Reali di Savoia; vol. ii., pi. 3, fig. 1 ,
supplement. Torino, 1841.
217 The British Museum possesess some coins struck by the
Counts of Genevois, of the fourteenth century. [Formerly in
the Pfister Collection.]
208 NUMISMATIC CHORONICLE.
the golden tremisses of the Burgundians, of the sixth century,
and which are inscribed LAVSONNA FIT GVGGILOMV.
M.21s (monetarius). Vevey, we have in VIVATI.219 Those
of the town of St. Maurice are inscribed AGAVNV. FIT.220
A Tremissis of that period, in the British Museum, struck
at the monastery of St. Maurice (Fanum S.Mauritii reli-
s;iosissimum) is inscribed S. MAVRICI,221 and represents
the bust of that saint, however, without the nimbus — which
generally is not found on well authenticated monuments
earlier than the sixth century. The reverse of this interest-
ing and rare coin is inscribed NICASIO MONET (arius).
[From the Pfister Collection.]
The well-known Denarii of Lausanne, were first struck in
the tenth century, by the bishops, not bearing however any of
Iheir names. They exhibit the primitive Christian temple,
namely, still of Roman design, and named in the oldest
documents " Opus Romanum." These coins are inscribed
SEDES LAVSANE. The reverse shows a cross and CIVI-
TAS EQVESTRIS. In my opinion, these coins were issued
from the mint of Lausanne till the end of the twelfth
century. Others have considered this in a different way,
and say, that these ecclesiastical coins, inscribed Sedes
Lausanne, have been struck at the town of Nion, the Colo-
nia Equestris.222
218 Revue Numismatique, 1840, p. 223.
219 Mader, Kritische Beytrage zur Miinzkunde des Mittelal-
ters. Prag., 1803, 8vo., vol.iii. p. 16.
220 The Marquis de Lagoy. Melanges Numismat. Aix. 1845.
221 Cn a tremissis, of the town of Mauriac (Auvergne), we
read, MAVRIACO VIC. Revue, 1846, p. 281.
220 It was the oldest Roman colony in Switzerland. Caesar,
58 B.C., having established it at the Keltic Nivi-dun (New-
Castle, New-Town), Romanised into Noviodunum (the name of
the town of Soisson was also Noviodunum), a Roman military
colony (Colonia Julia Equestris), which was composed mostly of
a certain number of Chevaliers, alse Equitum singularium (differ-
ent from Equites singulares Augusti) which stood generally on
the frontiers under prefects.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 209
To this I beg to observe, that Lausanne had already
enclosed within its diocese, at an early period, the greatest
part of the worldly dominions of the abolished Episcopate
of Nion (the episcopal jurisdiction and the castle and town
were made over to the Bishop of Besan9on), and likewise
that part of the country still called after the destroyed
town and Roman colony, Civitas Equestris, and also Pagus,
or Comitatus Equestricus. It was situated between the
two small rivers, the Versoy and Aubonne,223 (Albona) from
the town of Rolle along the Lake to Satigny.
In A.D. 1080, the emperor, Henry IV., gave all the coun-
try, between the Alps and Mont Jura, which belonged to
his adversary, King Rudolph, of Burgundy, to the Bishop
Burchard, of Lausanne. It is true, that during some part
of the Mediaeval period, Nion had a mint, and the coins
struck there resemble in type the episcopal denarii of
Lausanne, but we have no knowledge, no proof, that the
Nion mint was in activity before the occupation of part of the
Pays de Vaud, by the Counts Peter and Louis, of the House
of Savoy, during the thirteenth century. In fact, we know
only of certain coins of Louis II. (1302 — 1330), as I have
stated before, struck at Nion. Though Louis I. had already
223 The Itinerary places Nion on the road from Geneva to
Lausonius, Lacus Losuna. Ptolemy (ii. 9) assigns it to the
Sequani. It seems to have been Caesar's intention, by colonizing
Nion, to keep, in that part of the country, the Helvetii in check,
and guard the passes of the Jura.
It is, perhaps, of that cavalry (alee Equitum singularium)
drawn by Csesar from Gaul, to make war upon Pompey, that
Lucan speaks in the line " Deseruere cavo tentoria fixa Le-
mano."
Niviodunum was devastated by the Alemanni, at the beginning
of the reign of Honorius (A.D. 397). Two years afierwards,
Honorius ceded that part of Eastern Gallia to the Burgundians,
who firmly established themselves in the country about the
Lake Leman.
210 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
received, from the Emperor Rudolph, of Hapsburg, the
right of striking coins in any part of his dominions (1284).
This right was confirmed in 1297, by the Emperor Adol-
phus of Nassau, to strike silver and gold coins.
I consider, therefore, with regard to the coins inscribed
SEDES LAVSANE CIVITAS EQVESTRIS, that in propor-
tion as the opulence of Lausanne and Geneva increased
(they being the most important towns in Roman Helvetia) »
that of Nion declined, occasioned by the Episcopate of
Lausanne having spread out already at an early period,224
and so, in consequence, having thus made all these acquisi-
tions, Lausanne assumed to herself the boasting title of
Civitas Equestris on her coins.225 As much as to say, that
her ecclesiastical coins were first issued at her mint, at the
period when the greatest part of the Civitas, or Pagus
Equestris, belonged to the Sedes Lausanne.
Besides, we have observed, that the town of Nion was
already included in the new created Duchy of Chablais,
in the eleventh century. Furthermore, in favour of my
argument, that these ecclesiastical coins, inscribed Civitas
Equestris, were struck at Lausanne, and not at Nion, is,
that Levade, in his Diet. Geograph. du Canton de Vaud
(p. 162), tells us that there was formerly written over one
of the gates of Lausanne, u Lausanne Civitas Equestris."
224 A.D. 517. The signature of a Bishop of Nion is men-
tioned at a most important electoral synod, held by King Sigis-
mund, at the Burgundian town of Epauna (Epaonensis, Epauni),
the site of which is supposed to be occupied by the hamlet
of Epenassey, built on the debris of the mount Tauredunum,
or Taurus, near Agaunum, which fell down in A.D. 562, be-
cause a very ancient Missal of St. Maurice mentions the locality
of that council, under the name of Epona Agaunorum.
225 Compare a paper of mine on the coins of Sienna. Literary
Gazette. London, October 12th, 1850, No. 1760.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 211
Advancing from Switzerland towards the Rhine, which
the Romans called K Rhenus Superbus," many Keltic names
might be traced to prove that the number of places whereon
Drusus (who died B C. 9) built his fifty castles. — " Drusus in
Rheni quidem ripa quinquaginta amplius castellis direxit "
(Florus.lib.iv. 12) — were already either towns or habitations
occupied by different Kelto-Germanic tribes.
0legere8 £ekn ifi fyer am alten Olljein ; eg fceicegt fief)
unb fce^enbe ber aftenfcfy, njie eS erforbett Jem £tyun.
It may be here observed, that the army of the Rhine,
which was charged with the keeping off the German!, was
the strongest of all the Roman forces serving on the fron-
tiers, and, in fact, was the flower of the Roman army. It
consisted of eight legions of militia, to which, according
to Roman usage, was generally added a similar number of
auxiliaries, that is to say, troops gathered from the sub-
jected provinces. The total force may be rated at 100,000
men, of which the chief portion were stationed in the two
head quarters, namely, Cologne (at that time the Oppidum
Ubiorum, Tacit. Annal.i. 1, c. 36), and Mentz, the Roman
Moguntiacum (Aurea Moguntia) that is to say, the Kelto-
Gerrnanic Mo-gunti-ac. I am not aware that an attempt
has ever been made to explain the meaning of this name.
The etymology of this primitive appellation of Moguntiac,
the city of Mentz, I conceive signifies merely conflux, con-
fluence, namely, the habitation, the town, where Mo (Ma),
water, Gunti, joins, ac, water ; hence, Moguntiac signifies
the river Main (Moenus) joining the Rhine, like the Moselle
(Mosa) joins the Rhine at Coblentz.226
226 Ammianus Marcellinus, in his Lives of Constantius and
Julian the Apostate (A.D. 360) alludes to Coblentz,
2J2 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
! 5Mr fct mem ©ru§ eitf&oten,
Itnb betncm (Strom mit feiner bcutfcfjen glut
llnb beinem 5)om mit feinen grofjen Sobteitl2
©ercetfyte <2tatte, wo bem £roufcabour
3n Qlfceiibbammerimg fetn 2)icibcfyeu laufcfyte,
SBenn er im leic^ten Jlafyn
The Keltic Mo, or Ma, reminds us of the English moist
— we have the Moesa, a torrent which falls into the Ticino.
Alci-moenis was the name of Ulm, on the Danube. The
river Maine, in Ireland, flowing through the Barony of
Troughamacy, was also called Mang. Ossian (speaking
probably of the fair Evir-ellin) says, " Her arm was white like
GormaFs snow, and her bosom whiter than the foam of the
Main;" and again, "Lulan's warriors fell in blood, or rose
in terror on the waves of the Main."
We have, also; the Egyptian words Ma, Mo, and Moil
for water228 (in Hebrew, Mayin). Lepsius observes, that
in the desert of Nitria is a plain, which has the name of
Bahr-bela-ma, that is, river without water. Mageritt,
was the name of Madrid, as late as A.D. 930, and it is
supposed alludes to the environs, which were formerly rich
in water. It is known that the small river, Mazanares>
near Madrid was formerly navigable.
The Sanscrit has yukti, for joining, from the word yui,
to join ; from which, also, the Latin jungo may have been
derived. The Hindoo yoni, i. e., female nature, is also de-
rived from the same root, yu, to mix; 229 jani, a mother.
227 The Emperor Louis I., the Pius, died in A.D. 840.
228 "\^re fin(j jj/a jn the meaning for water in five East African
languages. See proceeedings of the Philological Society, vol. iv.,
1850, p. 11.
In the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions, Dr. Oppert (p. 41) reads
" Mi" for water, " Mi-Kaldan," the water, the river of the Chal-
deans (now-a-days Diala.)
229 The symbol for yoni, is the triangle, which, in the hiero-
glyphics of Egypt, is supposed to signify, joy, pleasure, prosperity.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 213
We may observe, that the country about Moguntia, was
inhabited by the Catti, the present Hessians (Hessus Mars),
which reminds one of the Cathac-Gaali of Scotland,230 who
called their stone enclosures "Caisel" (Cashel). In Gaelic,
caistal and chaistel, means a tower (the round towers in
Ireland are generally called the Castle by the country
people), a castle, or fort, which, singularly enough, corre-
sponds also to the name of the Hessian capital, Cassel
(A.D.913, Chasella).
Marcus Agrippa, the favoured general and son-in-law of
Augustus, originally erected some strong fortifications
against, the German!. Drusus Germanicus afterwards built
the extensive fort of Moguntiacum, or Moguntia. He built,
also, a magnificent aqueduct, and a stone bridge over the
Rhine. A Roman monument, still existing, of that early
date, is the Drusus-stone (Eichelstein, better Adlersteiri —
Eagle-stone), erected to the honour of Drusus, who likewise
built a fort or castle on the opposite side of the river
(Castellum). In A. D. 70, Moguntiacum was garrisoned fay
the XXII. Legion (Primigenia Pia Fidelis), which had
been engaged with the army, under Titus, in the conquest
of Judsea, and the destruction of Jerusalem. The Emperor
Trajan erected a fort on the point of land by the Rhine and
Maine. Adrian strengthened the outer works of the town
by two forts. In A.D. 233, Alexander Severus was mur-
dered at Moguntia by his own soldiers, in consequence of
the rigour of his military discipline.
The town was eventually laid in ruins by the Germani.
230 Among the ancient Scots, the common soldiers were called
Catherni, Caterans, or fighting bands : cattun, warrior. In the
Highlands, the Clan Chattan were once a powerful people. The
name of a strong mountain pass towards their habitations, was
Starshnach-nan-yaf 'el.
VOL. XIX. F F
214 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
It was restored by the Franks ; and Charlemagne built a
convent and school at the neighbouring Albansberg.
At Mentz, a fine museum is now established in one of
the former palaces of the Electors, and contains many im-
portant Roman antiquities.
Bingen (Bingium, Pingua), the Keltic Bingiac, still so
inscribed on coins of Charlemagne, seems to allude, like-
wise, to Bin-d-inis, which signifies an elevation of land
nearly surrounded by water. In Scotland, we have a
mountain called Ben Nevis, whose summit is seldom free
from snow. Pen Val (Penn-fhail), in Welsh, signifies the
head of the enclosure. Others have it from binn, eleva-
tion ; and ca, house ; bin-ga, house on the elevation.
Bingen is beautifully situated on the point of land formed
by the junction of the Rhine and the Nahe (naos, running).
Behind the town, rises a lofty hill, on the summit of which
are the ruins of the ancient castle of Klopp, standing on
the site of a Roman castrum.
The Roman Bingium, or Bingiacum, was destroyed by
the Alemanni, in A.D. 410 ; and again, in 883, by the Nor-
mans. Tacitus, in his description of the war against the
Treviri, mentions a bridge over the river Nahe.
It is said that Charlemagne planted the vine near Bingen.
93?o je|t ber £)utftige feincn 93ranb
3n rcenig ©elb ertrdnfet ;
®ien.-eil ba§ fleine «£effenlanb,
2>ie groften (Sdjovpcn fcfyenfet.
The etymology of Bacharach was considered, for more
than a century up to the time of Victor Hugo, as derived
from Bacchi Ara.231 " Le nom," says M. Victor, " semble
231 \Ve have a Thronus Bacchi in the former name of Tarbach,
a town between the Rhine and the Moselle. Bachia, the small
town of Bach, in Hungary; Bachi, a village in Switzerland;
Bachy, a borough near Tournay. There is a Bagacum (Bagacum
Nerviorum), a town of the Nervii, in Gallia Belgica, now a small
place of the name of Bavey, near Mons.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 215
un ancien cri des bacchanales accomode pour le sabbat ;"
namely, the Romans having either found there the vine, or
planted it themselves, and erected an altar to Bacchus; or,
as the old edition of the Rhenish antiquary has it, " der
Heiden Wein und Saufgott." Even the omnipotent news-
paper, the Times (September 15th, 1849), thought it worth
while to mention it. It says, " The water of the Rhine is at
present so low, that the sunken rocks, known as the Ara
Bacchi, near the town of Bacharach, which, it is supposed,
takes its name from them, are visible. The opportunity
will be seized to destroy them by blasting ; but they are
first to be carefully examined, to discover whether, accord-
ing to tradition, they bear any inscription."
I am not aware that any attempt has been ever made to
give a different meaning to the etymology of Bacharach.
I consider this name altogether Kelto-Germanic, and that
Bacharach signifies the position of the town, where the
river (the Rhine) turns in an eddy, or whirlpool, which
dangerous pass is called " Wildes Gefoahrt." The dis-
tinguished writer, M.Victor Hugo, also observed, that on
this spot, " le Rhin s'engouffre et tourne sur lui-meme dans
un entonnoir de rochers. Ce mauvais pas s'appelle le
Wildes Gefoehrt."2'32 He continues : " Bacharach est dans
un paysage farouche. Des nuees presque toujours accro-
chees a ses hautes ruines, des rochers abruptes, une eau
sauvage enveloppent dignement cette vieille ville severe
qui a etc Romaine, qui a ete Gothique, et qui ne veut pas de
venir moderne." And here the gay Frenchman continues :
" Je dois pourtant dire, en historien fidele, que j'ai vu une
C32 Beulacli, among other significations, is a term amongst
mariners for the ninth wave, said to be much higher than the
intervening eight.
" Altior insurgens deciunv ruit impetus und*." — Ovid.
216 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
charmante marchande de modes installee avec ses rubans
roses, etc., sous une efirayable ogive toute noire du XII.e
siecle. Dans ce vieux bourg-fee, les goitreux et les jolies
filles, ont dans le regard dans le profil et dans la tournure,
je ne sais quels airs du XIII. siecle. "
Reading these observations, I thought M. Victor might
have made great progress in the study of mediaeval coins.
But, returning to our etymological researches in Bacha-
rach, we have Bach, the river (the Rhine), ar, quick or
rapid,233 and ac, water. Bacarrach, in Gaelic, signifies
threatening, denouncing evil, and Bachlach means curled
in ringlets. Bachra (now Baghra) is a townland, in the
west of the parish of Clonmacoise, King's County, Ireland.
The French town of Bavay, we have in the old name of
Bagacurn.
The word Bach occurs in hundreds of places and rivers
everywhere, as well as the termination in ac so often noticed
already, and which the Roman writers expressed through
acum (acus), as in Moguntiacum, Antoniacum, Bachacum,
etc. In Switzerland, there are the rivers Steinach, Roschach,
Fischach, Salmach, Goldach, and the Schwarz-ag, in the
Black Forest.
Ar, Aar, Are, occurs likewise in the names of many
places and rivers, which, according to their nature, are
rapid ; and therefore ar, in Keltic, occurs also sometimes
in the signification of havoc, desolation. Arre, or Ara-
force, is the name of a waterfall, near Ulleswater, where
the echo of dashing and gurgling waters never dies. Ar-
ran, in Keltic, signifies the current, and ragra, the rushing,
roaring. The Irish Arrachtach means mighty, powerful.
Ar-Avan is the name of the river at St. Jean de Maurienne,
233 In old Spanish, vir-ar, bir-ar, signifies turning, turning
a ship.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 217
the rapid Arc is a torrent from the Cenis, near the small
town of Modano, which hurries soundingly on among
masses of opposing rocks. In " Agara," I believe we have
the river Moldau.
We may even allude to the name of the Garonne, Ga-
runa, i.e., Garu-avon, rapid river,234 which takes its source
in the Pyrenees, at a vale called Aran. In Ireland, we
have the small town of Dungarvan, i.e., Dun-gar-avan. In
Scotland, the foaming Garry, and the falls of the Garr-Valt,
and I believe the rough waters of the eastern coast of Nor-
folk are called Garruenos. In some districts of the South
of France, we have the river Var. Var, in Sanscrit, is
water, and Varuna, God of Water. In Egypt, laro and lor
for river. We may }Tet mention the Ag-ar-ana,235 Agern-
thal, through which the river Elan runs (Canton Valais).
Near Loch-Fin (white lake), we have the Ar-ay. I have
before observed, that ar, when not connected with the word
water, has sometimes also the different meaning of on,
or near.
And so, we have the Aar (Arola, Arula), which attains
a considerable size, by means of tributary streams from all
the dark icy valleys through which it passes, and finally
rushes over the granite rocks of Handeck, a precipice of a
hundred feet. The Ar-ve,236 near Geneve ; the Arbach, in
234 A noted river in Persia has the name of Karun. In New
South Wales, not far from Sydney, is the river Vara-Vara
(Bara).
ess Ag-ar and Ain occurs also in the names of wells in North
Africa (James Hamilton, Wanderings in North Africa. Lon-
don. 1856).
In the Saharah, is the town of Ain-Mahdy, as well as the
spring and town of El-Ahwad (Aghouat), and the Ras El-ayoon
is the head of the springs. In ancient names of rivers, we have
the Ar-ach-tus (Epirus), Ar-axes, Ach-eron, etc.
236 One who has resided in the Marquesas Islands, in the
South Seas, mentions a famous mineral spring, which the
218 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Canton Zurich ; the Arabona (Ar-avori) Rab, in Hungary ;
Araxus. The rivers Ar-ay and Shir-ay, in Scotland, which
pay tribute to Loch-Fine. Then the Irish islands of Arran,
the largest in the group is Arr-an-rnore. The remains of
an old fort are called Dun Aengus.
Oh ! Arranmore, loved Arranmore,
How oft I dream of thee,
And of the days when, by thy shore,
I wandered young and free.
T. MOORK.
Aar, in ancient German, is the word for eagle (the quick
sailer),237 Arnold, Arnolldr (old eagle) ; in Keltic, it is
Erir and Ery, for eagle (Eri-t-ain, the rapid river, Eri-
danus). The Scotch have Aern and Cam. In Wales, part
of a mountainous country is called Craigian-eryri, the
crags of the eagles.238 In Etruscan, we have Aracos for
a hawk, and Antar is the name for the eagle. Diodorus
tells us, that the Nile (Okeanos) was afterwards called
Aetos (Aquila), a translation of the Egyptian word Acham
Achem 'Ahom, for an eagle, which almost corresponds again
with the Keltic Agn-ar, a sea-eagle, osprey ; and from the
Keltic Agla, the wing, is formed the Roman Ales. In
Southern Tyrol, we have Agula and Agol, for Eagle.
islanders hold in high estimation. They call it " Arva-Wai."
Arva means strong, and Wai is water. In Tahiti, the word
" Arva" means sometimes brandy (reminds one of the Keltic
Uisge, Uisk, water, now- a- day transformed into whiskey).
" My good little girls," said a missionary, " no run after
sailors — no go where they go, they harm you. Where they
come from, no good people talk to 'em — just like dogs.
Here, they talk to Pomaree, and drink ' Arva ' with Poofai (a
distinguished chief in the island)."
237 The blowing of the winds was in general considered, by
the ancients, as an effect of the moon. Among the Egyptians,
Isis bore a vulture on her head. In England, a species of the
hawk is called the Wind-hover.
SSB Ar-iceiiiydcf, in Welsh, means a leader.
JOURNAL OF A TRAVELLER. 219
Summing up our long argument, we may conclude, that
" Bach-ar-ach " signifies a place where a whirlpool exists
in a river.
Andernach, Antonacum Artonacum, was a Roman fron-
tier town on the Rhine, and the head quarters of a military
prefect ; it was yet a city of some note in A.D. 359, and,
according to Ammianus Marcellinus, was called An-
tunacum.
Cellarius, in " Notitia Orbis Antiqui," speaks of it as a
city of the empire, which is called Artonacum and Anto-
nacum. It means on, or near, the water, the river; similar
to the town of Antwerp (i.e., on, or at, the wharf),23^ An-
tibes, etc. The Lithuanian language has Ant-upys, for a
river country.240
It appears that the Keltic aa, ac, and ach, occur long
before the Roman aqua.
The Swedes have still the aa for water, the Gothic was
ahwa ; the Anglo-Saxons had it in ea (Ea-land), which
changed into eau, and so did the ac into ay, as we have ob-
served before. But the Franks changed the ac and ach
into acqs (aquae Augustas) and into aix (Aachen, Aix la
Chapelle).
In the compound names of South-Britain, we often find
ax or ex, as in Axminster and Exeter (Miniriacum) which
answers also for the eslc, in Scotland, the North and South
Esk join below Dalkeith. In Wales, we have it in Esk-
dale, and also the river Esk, at Musselburgh, which receives
from the Gray mountains several streams, one has the name
239 Deoch-an-doruis, the drink at the door, which, according
to ancient hospitality in Scotland, was not charged in the
reckoning.
240 Schleiger, Handbuch der Litanischen Sprache. Prag,
185G, p. 145.
220 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
of Brellil-Vach. In South Wales, we have the rivers Usk,
Esca, and Isca ; also, in Devon, is a river of the name of
Esca.
We may yet mention the Tour d' Aix (the Castrum in
Ago), in the country of the Gruyere. Aa, is a small river
in the Canton of Underwalden, where there is likewise
Aadorf and Aathal ; near Graveliness is also a river called
the Aa. Furthermore, we have towns in France and Italy
assimilating in Agedinacum, Agenadicum, Acguinis, Acqui,
and also in the river Ache, near Bregenz, etc.
And now, having made a somewhat wide excursion, I
must take leave of the kind reader for the present, and
hope he will pardon me should he observe leaves of Spring
and leaves of Autumn in the same picture.
J. G. PFJSTER.
London,
ZZrd July, 1857.
221
IX.
ON A TETRADRACHM OF ALEXANDER
STRUCK AT ARADUS.
BY THE LATE W. H. SCOTT, M.D.
IT may seem hardly worth while to lay before the Society
so common a coin as a tetradrachm of Alexander the Great.
I have some reason, however, to think this an unpublished,
or at any rate, an unexplained, variety of these very com-
mon, though not less interesting coins.
The obverse is of rather a peculiar style of fabric. My
means of comparison are so scanty that I am quite unable
to say whether or not it has the characteristic marks of a
Syrian or a Phoenician mint, although the symbols on re-
verse lead me to infer its Phoenician origin.
The reverse type I need not describe, as it is perfectly
known to every member of the Society.
Below the throne are a bee and the Greek letter A. The
bee is common to the coins of Ephesus and Aradus, but the
initial of the latter town shows at once that the coin belongs
to it. If this were all, I should not have thought the coin
worth the notice of the Society, but it may be seen that in
the field, before the knees of Jupiter, there occurs a letter
resembling F (F) which is the Phoenician Aleph, K, the
initial of the name of Aradus.
I am not aware that this bilingual coin has been published
as yet ; if so, it has escaped the attention of Dr. Judas, who
mentions no such coin in his very useful " Etude demon-
VOL. XIX. O G
222 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
slrative'de la langue Phenicienne," which contains every
Phoenician inscription and coin known up to 1847.
Pellerin (Melange, I., 125, seq., pi. ii.) has already classed
to Aradus coins of Alexander, with the monogram AP and
a palm-tree (No. 13) ; with a bee, and no letter or mo-
nogram (No. 14); and with an acroterion (No. 15). Eckhel,
however, while he sanctioned the attribution of the first
class, threw doubt on that of the others. It is very pro-
bable that those bearing the bee without the distinguishing
letter A, which occurs on my coin, may be of Ephesus.
The workmanship ought, however, to decide this point, if
any dependence can indeed be placed on the fabric of
Alexander's coins as indicating their locality. This coin
certainly has the slightly concave reverse and thick massive
form which Consinery stated (Eckhel, ii., p. 103) to belong
to those usually found in Macedonia, at the same time that
the accessory symbols seem to give it to the East. The
fabric, indeed, is very different from that of all the coins
of Alexander which I have had an opportunity of examining,
among which were one or two of those classed to Amphi-
polis, from the lamp used as a symbol on them. Their
number has been, however, too restricted to enable me to
form a positive opinion ; the casts laid before the Society
will afford them the means of judging.
223
X.
ON THE WEIGHT OF SASSANIAN COINS.
BY PROFESSOR MOMMSEN.
(COMMUNICATED BY THE LATE W. H. SCOTT, M.D.)
THE weights of Sassanian coins communicated by Mordt-
mann have given me an opportunity of inquiring into their
relation to the contemporary Roman coinage. A few words
will suffice to communicate my results, which were mostly
negative.
Two of the oldest coins of the dynasty appear pretty
clearly to be struck on the Roman standard. First, Mordt-
mann's No. 1 of 60 As=44*46 grains; probably a badly
struck and worn coin, of the denarius weight. The full
weighted denarius of this period weighs about 52 grains.
Second, Mordtmann's No. 4 of 255 As. (some rather lighter)
= 188' 95 grains; evidently the weight of the tetradrachm,
as struck by the later Arsacidae (Mionnet gives coins of
Vologeses III. weighing 254 and 246 grs. French = 208'28
and 201 '32 grains); as also a coin of Antiochia (Poids,
p. 187, No. 279) struck under Elagabalus, the contemporary
of Ardeschir, which weighs 224 grs. French=183'68 grs.
Here ends, however, the correspondence. The gold coins?
differ altogether in weight from the Roman, as well as the
greater part of the silver ; they are easily classed thus, fol-
lowing Mordtmann : — grs-
( Ardeschir 1. 226-238 130'86
• Whole pieces | ^^ ^ 3QS_m ^.^
* f Shahpur III. 383-388 65 94
" 1 Khosrul. 531—579 6298
Silver The ordinary coins 62' 24
Besides which, coins of 1^, 5, and £ occur.
224 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The gold pieces of 111 — 113 grs., struck by Shahpur I.,
238 — 269, and in the early part of the reign of Shahpur II.,
308 — 380, remain anomalous, and at present no better ex-
planation presents itself than to recognise them as reductions
of the larger coins, the issuing of which was afterwards
stopped, so that instead of these light aurei they coined
full-weight half-aurei [using this word for convenience].
If we ask the denomination of the coins, it is evident that
gold and silver were coined into the same unit, and since
this is divided into six parts it must be the drachma. We
find also this name under Justinian, in Cosmas Indico-
pleustes in Montfaucon's Nova coll. Patrum, ii. 1. xi., p. 338,
who relates an anecdote, how in Taprobana (Ceylon) a
Roman and a Persian merchant attempted to demonstrate
to the king, from their coins, the power and wealth of their
respective countries. The gold <:oin of the Persians is
here called, Spa^jjir) rovrian TO fii\iapLa-iov ; this last ex-
pression, at that time, was applied by the Romans to any
large silver coin.
But whence comes the weight ? The answer is remote
and yet near at hand ; it is the old national weight, the
Persian gold drachm of 78 grs. French=63'72 grs. After
Alexander it was replaced, at least in the gold currency,
by the Attic drachm. It is remarkable that the Sassanians
not only recommenced to strike gold, which was an im-
perial prerogative, not permitted to dependent states, and
had not been done by the Arsacidae, but did so on the old
Eastern standard. Their holy books are connected with
Darius and ignore Hellenism : they were consistent, there-
fore, here also ; and not only the fire-altar, but even the
weight of the coins is part of this remarkable Renaissance.
225
XL
NOTE ON A SUPPOSED COIN OF CALYNDA.
DR. VON KOEHNE, in his letters to M. Kauch (Mem. Soc.
Arch. St. Petersburg, vol. iv. p. 354), describes a coin
which he classes to Calynda, in Caria, a city of which
only one coin has yet been published. He describes it as
follows : —
Obv. — Lanreated head of Zeus to right.
Rev. — • AAYNAE • • Eagle between a ring (such as was
used for a mark by archers), which is decorated
with a tsenia and a laurel branch. Below,
AHOAAQ OEPrE. M. 5.
This coin, however, belongs to Blaundos, in Lydia, and
not to Calynda. I possess a specimen which, although,
like that of Dr. von Koehne, it is too small for the die,
reads distinctly . AAYNAE . . The difference between the
A and A is quite clear on my coin, and that of Dr. von
Koehne must be either rubbed in that part, or altered,
since I can refer to other specimens corroborating my
reading. The Wellenheim Catalogue (p. 285, Nos. 6256,
6256 a), describes two specimens, the first of which is
described in full as bearing the legend BAAYNAE . .
AHOAAQNI. GEOrEN. Reference is made to Mionnet
iv. 20, 99. Pellerin also (Recueil ii. plate xliii. 27), en-
graves a specimen under Blaundos. All these descriptions,
and my coin, agree in placing the eagle between a
226 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
caduceus and a branch of laurel, instead of the ornamented
ring of Dr. von Koehne, which was simply an indistinct
caduceus. The difference between eEOFEN and OEPFE
is very slight, as an indistinct O might resemble P easily
enough. Sestini (Classes Generales) has already de-
scribed a coin of Calynda as follows : — " Laureated head
of Jupiter R KAAAINAE&N. Eagle on a thunderbolt."
The double A renders it probable that this coin is not of
Blaundos, though in the same plate of Pellerin we see an
analogous coin, on which the eagle holds a sceptre. The
name is written with one A only in ancient writers. Dr.
von Koehne has proposed to correct it into KAAYNAEON,
he writes it, however, KAAINAEQN. I do not observe
any other specimen which might clear up the difficulty as
to its proper legend. If the double A is only an error of
Sestini' s, it probably belongs to Blaundos, like the present
coin. WILLIAM H. SCOTT.
XII.
NOTE ON THE COINS OF MEREDATES AND
UIPHOBA.
I am anxious to call the attention of numismatists to the
coins of Meredates and Uiphoba, classed, though perhaps
without much certainty to Characene (Millingen, Sylloge,
p. 85, tab. iv. 67 ; Lindsay, Coinage of Parthia, tab. x.
Nos. 13, 14). These coins have not yet been completely
read, as far as I know, in spite of the number now known,
which is pretty large. Mr. Lindsay (1. c. No. 14), engraves
one reading, apparently YI*OBA BACIA M6PGAAT
NOTE ON THE COINS OF MEREDATES AND UIPHOBA. 227
BACI6AN which latter word appears correctly as
BACIAGYC on the coin engraved by the Baron de Chau-
doir (Corrections and Additions, platelv. 39), while the coin
engraved in Millingen seems to read YlfcOBA BACI.
M6PGAAT BACIAICC, sic.
There is still a word before the head of Uiphoba, below
her name, which is differently represented. Thus Millin-
gen's engraving has OM, while his text omits to mention
it; Mr. Lindsay's No. 14 has . OM . . ; M. de Chaudoir's
coin has OIIAI, while a specimen which I possess reads
distinctly OMAK. A comparison of more specimens might
perhaps throw some light on this. I have been inclined
to question the explanation of YNA as a date, from its
occurrence on so many coins, and the absence of any other
date, which might reasonably be expected to occur, if
these letters denote a date. I cannot, however, explain
them, unless by supposing that they are to be joined to the
enigmatic word which I have already mentioned, thus : —
YNAOMAK, if the anomalous letter be indeed an A, which
is very uncertain. This, however, by no means a satisfactory
result, as we cannot tell what it means, whether it is a
title belonging to Meredates, or perhaps the name of his
father, imperfectly written, as is the name of Meredates
himself. Meredates is a pure Persian name, Gift of Meher,
or Mithra, Undomakos, would be, however, a barbarous, or
Parthian (?) name, like the Indo-Parthian Undo-pAerres.
The occurrence, indeed, of this latter name may serve
to shew the possibility of such a name as Undomak.
I shall be glad if this note induces any numismatist to
compare the coins of these unknown sovereigns, so as to
confirm or reject mr conjectures.
WILLIAM H. SCOTT.
228
MISCELLANEA.
THE COINAGE FOR ENGLAND. — Last year, 1856, there were
coined at the Mint 4,806,159 sovereigns, 2,391,909 half-sove-
reigns, 2,201,760 florins, 3,168,000 shillings, 2,779,920 six-
pences, 95,040 groats, 4,158 fourpenees, 1,018,298 threepences,
4,752 twopences, and 7,920 silver pence. The total value of
the gold coined last year was £6,002,1 14, and that of the silver
coin £462,528, the real cost or value of the metal having been
£434,609. The copper coinage of 1856 included 1,212,288
pence, 1,942,080 half-pence, 1,771,392 farthings, and 913,920
half-farthings, making a total value of £143,717. The purchase-
value of the copper was only £73,324. Last year 234,200,371
ounces of silver coin was purchased for re-coinage, at a nominal
value of £677,550; and the Mint value at 5s. 6d. an ounce
being £602,446, it follows that the loss by re-coinage was
£75,104.
INDO-SCYTHIC COINS. — Professor Wilson, in his Ariana
(p. 364), has shown that the Indo-Scythic coins of Kabul, bear-
ing Siva and his bull on the reverse, were formerly so numerous
and important as to have given a new word (Nanaka) to the
Sanscrit language. In pursuance of the same train of thought,
it may be worth remarking that even at the present day, in the
south-western extremity of India, coins, as distinguished from
current money, are called, both in the Canarese and Malayalam
languages, Nanya. The similarity between this word and the
Sanscrit is still more perceptible, when both are written in the
native character, as the second N is, in each case, the peculiar
letter termed by grammarians, Ihe cerebral. — G. SPARKES.
ERRATA.
Page 86, line 20, for circon da, rend circonda.
101, ., '20, for le battra la monnoie, read se battra la monnoie.
104, „ 31, for Vindossa, read Vindonissa.
— „ 32, for Vindossa, read Vindonissa.
127, „ 9,/ r Swo n, rend Sworn.
— „ 32, for Unti, rend Until.
147, „ 6, /or (Silttcrfctycilel, rend ®t(fcerfci)ette(.
155, „ 2, 'for n the tops, read on the tops.
— „ 20, for connec ed read connected.
164, „ 20, for Albaris, read Abavis.
197, „ 15, for Solodurense, Castrum, read Solodurense-Castrum.
2L3, „ 2, for Hessus Mars, r<ad Hessus, Mars.
215, „ 19, for Gefoahrt, read Gefoehrt.
229
XIII.
ON CERTAIN RARR GREEK COINS RECENTLY
ACQUIRED BY THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
[Read before the Numismatic Society, Nov. 29th, 1855 }
MY DEAR VAUX,
I quite agree with you in opinion, that several coins
among those lately purchased for the Museum, might be
worthy of mention at the next meeting of the Numismatic
Society ; and I know of no way more fitly to carry out
your suggestion than by means of a letter to yourself.
I will notice, in their geographical order, those coins
which seem most likely to prove interesting to the Society,
and proceed without further preface.
No. 1. The first is a very uncommon copper coin of
Corinth, which may be described as follows : —
Qbv. — Female heac^ to the right ; the hair tied at the back
of the beau.
Rev. — COL. L. 1VL. C[OR]. A lioness standing over a
recumbent ram, and resting its fore-paws upon it.
The group placed on the capital of a fluted Doric
column, orjijXrj]. JE. size 5. PI. No. 1.
We have the authority of Eckhel1 for regarding this
remarkable coin as presenting us, on the obverse, with the
portrait of the celebrated Lais of Corinth ; and, on the
reverse, with a representation of her tomb. The description
of Pausanias is by far too graphic to be mistaken. His
words are : —
TIpo Se Tr}<? 7roXeo>9 KVTrapi<Taa)v early aXcro? ovo^a^o^evov
Kpdveiov. 'Evravda Be\\epo<j)6vrov re ecrrt re/aevo?, KCU
vao<? MeXam'So"?, teal rd(pos Aai'Sos, <j> Srj \ecuva
1 Doct. Num. Vet., vol. ii. p. 239.
VOL. XIX. H H
230 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
ea-ri /cptcv e%ovcra eV rot? Trporepois TTOO-'IV. (Lib. ii.
[Corinth], cap. 2, § 4.)
Which may be translated as follows : — " Now, before the
city [of Corinth], there is a grove of cypress trees, called
Craneion, where there is both a sacred enclosure of Bellero-
phontes, and a shrine of Aphrodite Mekenis; as well as the
tomb of Lais : the monument on which, is a lioness, holding
a ram in her fore-paws."
The words of Pausanias, taken in connexion with our
coin, shew that it presents us with a representation of the
&iri0i)fta, placed over the grave of Lais. This, the coin
proves to have been a piece of sculpture surmounting a
(TTTI\IJ. I suspect that such a piece of sculpture is precisely
what is meant by the word eVt'^ua, — an epithem, if the
word must be written in English.
This o-Ti]\t] was evidently a fluted Doric column, the
capital of which alone is represented on the coin ; and,
which, as to style and form, was in conformity with many
other Greek crT?;Aai which have been, from time to time,
discovered at Athens.
It is to be regretted that Pausanias does not allude to the
meaning of this remarkable group ; and it seems to have
been considered by Eckhel so difficult and obscure, that he
has not ventured to give us any explanation of it. Its
general allusive meaning is, indeed, sufficiently plain. In
the meantime, we cannot forbear to call attention to the
great interest which attaches to this representation. At the
end of two thousand years, it unexpectedly enables us to
test the accuracy of the ancient antiquary, and to perceive
with what latitude his words are to be taken. No one,
probably, from the description of Pausanias, would have
imagined that the monument of Lais was such as we have
it. here represented to us. The lioness bestrides the ram
GREEK COINS 231
with fts hind-legs ; and rests its fore-paws on the shoulders
of its victim.
On looking into the works of the older numismatic
writers, I find that our coin was first engraved by Gessner ;3
but his representation of it is defective, and omits the Doric
capital, giving the view of the group from the opposite side.
Gessner, seems to have copied his engraving from one two
centuries older, by Eneas Vico, which I have hitherto not
been able to discover.
Pellerin,4 in 1763, published one of these coins, among
his uncertain ones ; he consequently offers no explanation
of the type.
Sestini,5 in 1796, gives engravings of two more coins of
this type, very ill executed, and, in a most obscure passage,
testifies to their rarity by observing that he was never able
to procure a specimen for the Ainslie Collection, and that
the celebrated collection of Cousinery (now at Munich) did
not contain one.
The passage in Eckhel (in 1794), before referred to, is
therefore the earliest notice of this very remarkable repre-
sentation with reference to the words of Pausanias ; and I
think we may conclude, from the mere inspection of this
coin, that during the Roman period, and probably much
earlier, the Corinthians honored Lais as a divinity.6
In the admirable work, by Visconti, Iconographie
Grecque (3 vols. in 4to. Paris, 1811, with a very large folio
volume of plates), the portrait of Lais will be found, in plate 37,
fig. 2 ; and the description, in vol. i. page 316. In the 8vo.
edition of Milan, 1824 (which is very inferior to the ori-
3 Imp. Rom., tab. 5, No. 26 figure. 1738. Folio.
* Recueil, vol. iii. p. 129, plate 116, fig. 5.
5 Descript. Num. Vet., 4to. Lipsise, 1796. Page 188, pi. iv.
figg. 8 and 9.
6 See a paper in the Numismatic Journal, vol. i. p. 97, written
to shew that all persons on coins are there placed as divinities.
232 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
ginal), the portrait is repeated, fig. 2, plate xxxvii., and the
Description in vol. i. p. 439.
In conclusion, I may be permitted to remark, that a few
years previous to B. c. 46 (in which year Julius Csesar
colonised Corinth and rebuilt the city), the Romans seem to
have conciliated the Corinthian public, and imperfectly
atoned for the severity of Mummius, about a century be-
fore, by an extended revival of all the old Corinthian myths
on the copper coins of the city, which would, of course,
pass into the hands of the bulk of the population, and be
acceptable and agreeable to them.
No. 2. The second coin which I beg leave to point out,
is also of Corinth. It may be described as follows ; —
Obv. — SE. naked male figure, standing ; seen nearly in
front, holding a rudder in each hand.
Rev. — COR. Pegasus, galloping, to the right. JE. size 3J.
PI. No, 2.
A similar specimen was first published by Pellerin in
1763,7 but as it was probably in poor condition, he read
CE instead of SE, on the obverse ; and, in consequence,
regarded the figure as representing the port of Cenchrese ;
of which CE seemed to form the initial letters.
The meaning of the letters SE, on this and several other
coins of Corinth, seems never to have been satisfactorily
explained.
Eckhel, however,8 with his usual tact, corrected the
mistake of Pellerin, but appears only to approach the true
meaning of the type.
The real meaning of this remarkable representation
seems to be a personification of the Isthmus itself; the
two rudders being symbolical of the two seas, which the
Isthmus of Corinth divided.
The territory of the Isthmus having been regarded from
? Recueil, p. 1 1 3, tab. xvii, fig. 18.
8 Doct. Num. Vet., vol. il p. 239.
GREEK COINS, 233
the earliest times as peculiarly sacred, probably from the
celebration of the games on that spot, became a favorite
subject for the sculptor ; and from the statues, the repre-
sentations passed to the coins of the city.
If any proof were required as to the true meaning of this
type, I should appeal to another coin : coins being always
the best commentators on coins.
The proof to which I allude, is a coin of Corinth, of Hadrian,
probably unique, in the collection of W. R. Hamilton, Esq.,
published by Millingen,9 which most happily bears on it the
word ISTHMVS, around a venerable bearded seated figure,
holding a rudder in each hand ; thus leaving no doubt as to
the meaning of the rudders, which are as much symbols of
the sea in general, as the trident and the dolphin, so often
found in union with the rudder, on coins of the Roman
period.10
The Roman poets, by their application of the epithet
"bimaris" to the city of Corinth, confirm what has just
been said, and illustrate these statues holding rudders, which
were perhaps suggestive of the epithet to the minds of the
poets.
Hence we find in Ovid,
" Bimari gens orta Corintho." n
" Quseque urbes aliae bimari clauduntur ab isthmo,
Exteriusque sitse bimari spectantur ab isthmo."12
and in Horace,
" Laudabunt alii claram Rhodon, aut Mitylenen,
Aut Ephesum, bimarisve Corinthi
Mcenia."13
9 Cities and Kings, London 1831, 4to. PI. iv., fig. 15, p. 59. —
See also Mionnet, Supp. vol. iv, page 82, No. 552, where this
identical coin is described.
10 See Mionnet, Vol. i., p. 10, Nos. 60, 65, and 67; and Vol. ii.,
p. 169, Nos. 151 and 152. " Metam. lib. v. 407.
i« Metam. lib. vi. 420. 13 Horat. Carm., lib. i., Od. vii.
234 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
From the several variations in the composition of these
statues by different artists, as found on other coins of this
city,14 we shall probably not err in concluding that the com-
position was very popular, and a favorite study among the
artists of Corinth, long anterior to the Roman poets.
No. 3. The next coin, also of Corinth, is well known,
and has been engraved.15
It may be described as follows; —
Obv. — Pegasus galloping to the left ; his wings curled in
archaic style; under him Q, as usual.
Rev.— TPIH, or TPHI, or THPI. Head of Medusa with
tongue protruded, seen full face within a sunk
square, the four letters being placed in the angles;
Ai size 1J.
Mionnet, in first publishing this little coin,16 read IIPIH,
and attributed it to Priene in Ionia, but corrected the error
in his supplement17 by means of the coin just mentioned,
published by Cadalvene, who restored the coin to Corinth ;
but who, after mistaking the type of Medusa for a scenic
mask, seems of opinion that the coin was struck by some
town of Corinthian origin in Macedonia, because it is often
found there.
Millingen, in 1837, published a coin,18 which, if he had
been able to fix its geographical position, would have given
us the town (in all probability beginning with TPIH) which
was in alliance with Corinth at the early period when our
coin was struck.
But the object of alluding, on the present occasion, to
our well known little silver Corinthian coin, No. 3, is, not to
settle the knotty point of the name of the town, still un-
14 Hunter, Tab. 20, fig. 23, and others.
15 Cadalvene, Recueil de M^dailles Greteques, etc., 4to, Paris
1828, p. 175, pi. 2, No. 25.
16 Vol. iii., p. 1 87, No. 889. " Vol. iv., p. 34, No. 187.
18 Sylloge, p. 40, Tab. 2, fig. 1 7.
GREEK COINS. 235
known, beginning with TPIH, but to introduce to notice a
coin, — No. 4, which is new, and exactly similar, in metal,
type, size, and age, to No. 3, with the exception that on
No. 4, the Pegasus on the obverse is going to the right, and
under it is found a lamda, instead of a koph, or koppa.
Our No. 4, was therefore struck at Leucas, in Acarnania,
an ancient colony of Corinth, which was in alliance with TPII1
at the same period as the mother city.
This fact may probably assist the search for the name of
the unknown city ; and under any circumstances, tends
si rongly to dispel a doubt which has been advanced as to
the possibility of TPIH being the initial letters of a magis-
trate's name.
The importance of having thus fixed firmly one element
of doubt in a research of some difficulty, will be readily
admitted, and the interest of our new coin established. We
now pass on to
No. 5, which is also a new coin, and may be thus
described ; —
Obv. — Naked Jupiter, standing, seen nearly in front, having
in his extended right hand, a little victory holding
a wreath towards him, and in his left a long sceptre.
Rev.— AXAKiN KOPTYNmN (Sic). Female seated to
the left; patera in extended right hand, and long
sceptre in her left. Underneath is a monogram,
which seems to be composed of the letters ATP,
or APT, or even A PAT, for Aratus himself. M,
size 4|. PI. No. 3.
The part which Aratus took in the Achaean League is
well known, and it is to the Achaean League that this coin
belongs.
The chief numismatic interest, however, which attaches
to this unique specimen, is, that it not only adds a new town
(Gortys in Arcadia) to the twenty-seven towns, already
known, of the Achaean League, but, at the same time, adds
236 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
a new town to numismatic geography,19 for no other coin of
Gortys in Arcadia is known.
No. 6, is also a new coin, and may be described as
follows ; —
Obv. — Boeotian shield.
Rev.— OPX across the field. M, size 5. PI. No. 4.
The British Museum already possesses four coins of this
class, of exactly the same type, size, metal, and fabric,
inscribed respectively API (Arisba),20 IIAA (Plateeae), TAN
(Tanagra), 9ES (Thespise). I once saw another, AEB
(Lebadeia),21 and now we have to add OPX (Orchomenus).22
These coins being all of Boeotian cities, seem to show the
existence of a Boeotian League or Confederation, of which
future researches will probably point out the period, and
which the fabric of the coins will materially assist, as they
have every appearance of having been all coined almost
in the same year.
I regret that I have not health and time to work out all
the questions to which these six curious and interesting
coins naturally lead ; and remain,
My dear Vaux,
Ever truly yours,
THOMAS BURGON.
Medal Room,
British Museum,
22710? November, 1855.
'9 The site of the city of Gortys, in Arcadia, was discovered
by Colonel Wm. Martin Leake ; see Travels in the Morea, Vol ii.,
p. 24 — 27, London, 8vo, 1830.
20 See Ortelius, " Thesaurus Geograpliicus," in voce. The spe-
cimen in the Museum, of this antique coin, is from the Devonshire
collection ; and although it appears to have been a little tooled, 1
do not believe it to have been in any degree falsified. The obscu-
rity of the town would alone prevent snch a suspicion.
21 See Numismatic Chronicle, Vol. i., p. 248.
2S It is true, that a coin similar to ours is described by Mionnet,
Vol. ii., p. 106, No. 79, but it does not exist in the French Cabi-
net, although Mionnet probably saw it.
,. Chron.
J.Sasire, dd. ef
RARE CREEK COINS.
I '///,/ . { '/!,;.•?! . I O/. ZZZ p. 237.
// silz
THE LEMLEIN MEDAL
237
XIV.
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL.
[Read before the Numismatic Society at the Annual Meeting, Juno 25, 1857.]
BY DR. L. LOEWE, F.R.A.S., M.S.A.P., ETC., ETC.
SIR, — I have much pleasure in laying before the Numis-
matic Society the result of my researches respecting a very
remarkable medal, which has attracted the attention of
several learned and distinguished authors.
It was under the consideration of Menestrier, De Boissi,
Lowisohn, Carmoly, Bekker, Sylvester de Sacy, Gerson
Levi, and Zunz. Some of these authors wrote memoirs on
the subject, which were submitted to learned societies ; yet,
notwithstanding the deep research displayed in their works,
they have still left not less than twenty-three letters un-
explained, have given no reason for the Latin and Greek
parts of the inscription, have made no attempts to discover
the date on the reverse of the medal ; and, what is worse,
they differ greatly with regard to the translation of several
very important words. Being so fortunate as to have this
medal in my cabinet, I felt induced to examine the legend
thereon ; and it will now depend on you to say how far I
may have succeeded in my humble researches.
Menestrier the Jesuit, in his history of Lyons, published
in the year 1696, was the first who gave a description of
this medal. " Forty years ago," he says, " Monsieur de
Ville, the Canon and Provost of the Eglise Collegiate de
Saint Just, Vicar General and Substitute of the Cardinal
VOL. XIX. I I
238 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Alphonse Louis de Plessis de Richelieu, having caused
some excavations to be made in his house, known by the
name of Breda, situate a little below the hill of Fourviere,
the work-people fonnd a bronze medal, about six inches in
diameter, having on one side the head of an emperor with a
laurel crown, attached to the head by a kind of band or
embroidered scarf with fringes, which takes up the hair
and ties them with the ends of the crown-wreath."
There are in the circle some Hebrew words, which seem
to come out of the emperor's mouth. He is represented as
a man in middle age, without beard ; his ears are free, and
a little under his eye, opposite to his nose, he has a wart.
Around the neck he has a gorget or breastplate, and there
are four Hebrew words disposed in a square towards the
four angles of the head : — One is immediately near the fore-
head ; the other behind the knot which ties the two ends of
the diadem or crown together; the third is between the
chin and the neck ; and the fourth is under the tuft of hair
tied up behind his head.
Below, where the shoulders ought to project, there is the
Latin word " umilitas," and under it the Greek word TAiiN,
instead of " humilitas" and raTravor???.
The reverse of this medal has merely a groove all around
without figure, bearing only the legend, " Post tenebras
spero lucem felicitatis judex dies ultimus. D. III. M."
Menestrier is of opinion that the figure on this medal
represents the king, Louis le Debonnaire. " Thegan, rural
bishop of the Church of Treves," he says, "describes him
to have been of middling height, having large and lively
eyes, a pleasing countenance, a long and well-formed nose,
lips of middling size, a full chest, large shoulders, and his
arms so strong that there was none his equal in his way of
stringing a bow or handling a lance. He had a sweet and
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 239
benign countenance, always more inclined to mildness than
to anger, which made him well deserve the title of De-
bonnaire."
In the figure on this medal, Menestrier finds all the pecu-
liarities above described ; and from this coincidence he
infers, that the medal in question was identically the same
which the Jews of Lyons had placed in the cavity of the
foundation-stone of their new synagogue, for the building of
which, they received permission from Louis le Debonnaire.
He considers his assertion strikingly confirmed by the
groove on the reverse of the medal and the legend thereon ;
it was intended, said he, to be enchased in the foundation-
stone ; and the legend thereon appears to state that, '" after
its having been buried in the darkness, it hopes again to
see light, were it even on the last day of the world, which
will be the judge of felicity."
In the opinion of Menestrier, the letters D. III. M. indicate
that the foundation-stone was laid on the third of May.
The numerous points above the letters in the inscription
he considers to be the letters T"1, signifying the ineffable
name of the Tetragramrnaton. "This," he says, "is often
to be met with in the Arabic, Persian, Greek, and Spanish
translations of the Bible ;" and the following is his version
of the Hebrew words in the legend : — " God, whose name
be praised, conducts, by His eternal and immutable will, all
that arrives by His decrees. I have seen the privation and
the form. I shall praise Thee, even for that which may
arrive in this time, which will come to a termination ; and
I shall understand the secrets and the decrees of Provi-
dence. My God, in whom I place all my glory, preserve
Jerusalem, and I shall be filled with joy. O Lord ! I shall
wait for happiness, which I hope to receive from Thee, my
omnipotent God, who forgivest sins."
240 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The Jews, he further observes, have probably immigrated
from Africa with the Vandals and the Saracens, who pene-
trated into Spain, Languedoc, Provence, and even France.
The names of Benjamin and Ben Cush, " the son of the
right hand," and " the son of Ethiopia," may therefore refer
to the fortresses of the Jews. One party having come from
Palestine from the tribe of Benjamin, and the other from
Ethiopia, and both united afterwards to form one congre-
gation, similar to that which the Lutherans and the Cal-
vinists did, when they united into one synod of Charenton,
although they originally descended from different sects.
Menestrier considers his conjectures fully established, on
comparing the golden coins struck by Louis le Debonnaire
with the figure on the medal in question ; and believes the
Latin and Greek words, under the head of the figure, to
express the submission of the Jews, who, out of respect to
that prince, made use of languages in which the latter was
considered to be well versed.
I shall make no remark on any of Menestrier's con-
jectures, for reasons which will afterwards be given. But I
will proceed to state the opinions of those who} to a certain
extent, followed or adopted his views.
De Boissi, in his " Dissertations critiques pour servir &
Phistoire des Juifs," printed in the year 1785, was the
second who gave an account of this medal. His translation
of the legend is more literal than that of Menestrier. He
does not ascribe the origin of the medal to a feeling of
gratitude, as Menestrier thought, on the part of the Jews
towards the emperor, but considers it as a work containing
merely, in the legend, a description of the great misery and
unspeakable sufferings which the Jews at that time had to
endure, and intended to call forth the sympathy and deep
compassion of the reigning monarch.
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLE1N MEDAL. 241
In the year 1820, S. Lowisohn, in his " Vorlesungen,"
published at Vienna, reported on this medal, and gave the
legend thereof in Hebrew characters. "Under Louis le
Debonnaire," he says, " the condition of the Jews in France
became greatly improved, owing to the great favour be-
stowed on them by the Empress Judith, whose words are
supposed to have had more influence on the affairs of the
empire than those of the monarch himself. The Jews often
received at court numerous marks of royal favour, and
many Jewesses stood in high estimation with the princesses
and other distinguished ladies."
Lowisohn, here following entirely the views of Menestrier,
I shall not repeat his words. With regard to the Hebrew
legend, his opinion is, that the synagogue expresses therein
the sentiments of the nation. " The synagogue," he says,
" complains of her present mournful state, and prays for a
glorious future." His reading of the legend is as follows: —
ninn TOJH umb T-QJV jrmn rn*m
fpn mw ysk *p« tiw mwi myn
-pins rby&\ DwS "on 'aan *hx nm&>rn
nSoi m nix -pan*
The translation of it, he renders thus : — " By the decree of
the Ruler of the universe, praised be he : by His eternal will,
by His just visitation (we lay the foundation of this syna-
gogue). I see the deformity (the state of the nation devoid
of all splendour), but, notwithstanding this, I shall still have
occasion to thank Thee when once my sufferings come to an
end. I shall then admire thy providence. My God ! my
Redeemer! O remember the orphan (nation), and I will
rejoice. 1 am longing after Thy redemption. Be Thou
praised, my Creator, Almighty and All-forgiving."1
1 For the above abstract of Lowisohn's " Vorlesung," I am
242 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
In the Hebrew, Lowisohn reads, ""jTlK u I will praise
thee," instead of *p1K " thy light" ; »&an " the Being that
raises me on high," instead of ^"H " Roman" ; ^OtPI " re-
member", instead of *VN£TI "He caused to remain";
which he translates, " of the orphan people/' instead
« their traces." The three letters 'V, which form
an abbreviation of the ineffable name of God, he reads ¥"*,
and considers them as an abbreviation of the two words
**Yl¥ *p3JV, which he translates, " Mayest Thou be praised,
my Creator !"
The letters on both sides of the figure, he reads p j*Q^
fc^O "Benjamin the son of Rush," which, he says, was
probably the name of the warden of the Jewish congrega-
tion at Lyons.
In the year 1834, Dr. Eliacin Carmoly published a report
on that medal, which he made to the Academic Royale des
sciences et belles lettres de Bruxelles. His report is en-
titled, " Memoire sur une medaille en 1'honneur de Louis-le-
Debonnaire," and I am under obligation to Mr. Akerman
for haviug called my attention to it.
Dr. Carmoly, after stating what Menestrier and De Boissi
have said, observes : — "As my opinion on several points
does not agree with those of Menestrier and De Boissi, I
shall here give a new explanation, which, if I do not mistake,
carries with it a high degree of probability. But, before
proceeding to give his peculiar ideas on the subject, he gives
the following account of the Jewish colony at Lyons.
This colony, he says, owes its origin to Herod the
tetrarch, son of Herod the Great, whom the Emperor Cali-
gula exiled to this place (v. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities,
indebted to my learned friend, Mr. M. E Stern, the editor of the
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 243
Book xviii. ch. 9). It increased rapidly in number, in con-
sequence of the Jews having been driven out of their country
after the destruction of Jerusalem, and found in Lyons a
most advantageous retreat. This large city being so
favorably situated respecting the commerce with the Gauls,
the Israelites who were compelled to procure for themselves
some means of subsistence, devoted themselves with great
activity to commerce, and the prosperity which they thereby
procured to the city, gained for them the consideration of
the people. Under the reign of Charlemagne, they appear
to have been considered important citizens of the town, for
they inhabited one of the finest quarters, which, at that time,
was enclosed by the SaOne and the hill of Fourviere. A
portion of that quarter retains to this day the name of
"Juiverie." On their account, the market, which was
usually kept on Saturday, was transferred to Sunday. They
had even an imperial overseer, who bore the name of
" Maitre des Juifs," whose duties were to take care that
their privileges should not be infringed.
This state of their prosperity, however, attracted the
jealousy of some of their neighbours, and the Bishop Agobard
undertook to prosecute them. The Jews complained of his
proceedings to the emperor, who immediately caused three
commissioners to proceed to Lyons to investigate the case.
The latter, having found the complaints of the bishop with-
out foundation, declared the innocence of the Jews, and
secured to them the privileges of which the bishop wanted
to deprive them. Upon this, the prelate felt much aggra-
vated, and expressed his doubts as to the truth of the com-
missioners' statement, and did not even hesitate to cast a
doubt upon the genuineness of the imperial seal affixed to
their credentials. Again he tried to bring a number of
accusations against the Jews, and even induced two other
244 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
bishops to sign his petition to the emperor ; but Edrard,
the imperial commissioner, examined the nature of his
accusations ; and again they were declared to be altogether
without foundation.
Bishop Agobard, seeing that all his efforts to injure the
Jews were fruitless, determined to repair to the imperial
court. He obtained an audience with the emperor, but it
was an audience de conge. His words had no influence
upon the emperor's mind, the Jews remained in favour,
and retained all their privileges.
Dr. Carmoly, after having given the preceding account,
goes on to say: — "So much justice manifested by an em-
peror against a bishop, from whom, under the sway of
another monarch, a single order would have been sufficient
to cause all the Jews to be banished from his diocese, ex-
cited in the hearts of the Jews in Lyons sentiments of the
deepest gratitude. The chief of their community, being
anxious to let the emperor know the high respect and the
sincere gratitude which the Israelite community entertain
towards him, caused this medal with the effigy of the prince
thereon to be struck. This was the highest honour they
could confer upon him ; but, as their religion distinctly
enjoins them not to make any image whatever, they felt,
that, by such an act, they would transgress the law ; for
this reason they implored the forgiveness of God, which is
expressed in the Hebrew inscription, invoking the Deity, at
the same time, to preserve the life of the emperor."
The translation of the Hebrew legend he renders thus : —
" By the decree of Him who governs (blessed may He be !)
by His eternal will, and sincerity of all justice, I have seen
this perishable figure. But, O ! may it last as long as this
effigy. I shall reflect on Thy providence, O my God !
Rome bequeathed him a part of her renown ; and this it is
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 245
which makes me to be full of joy. I am waiting for thy
deliverance from day to day. The Omnipotent is great,
and pardoneth."
The four words on the two sides of the head Dr. Carmoly,
like his predecessors, reads, " Benjamin, the son of Gush,"
a name which, he says, no doubt belonged to the head of
the community at Lyons ; and the initials, J"D ^ JT )"I3 V
TH 7H 8W ]}r\, are probably the names of the members
thereof.
The memoir of Dr. Carmoly has been well received by the
Academic Royale des Sciences et Belles Lettres de Bru-
xelles, by Professor Bekker and the late Sylvestre de Sacy.
On the 28th of August, 1836, Monsieur Gerson Levi made
a report on Dr. Carmoly's Memoire to the Academic des
sciences at Metz.
The letters VV which Dr. Carmoly reads as an abbrevia-
tion of the Tetragrammaton, he considers to be an abbre-
viation of the words DV1 DV, signifying "daily." The
letters above the head of the figure, he reads *&* "Jesse."
The word mW " figure," he reads rnfa "persecution." The
words *VN£7l ^11 which Dr. Carmoly translates, " Rome
bequeathed," he translates "he has left traces of my eleva-
tion," and interprets the whole legend as follows : — " By the
decree of him who directs, blessed be He, I have seen the
end of the persecution. I contemplate the providence of
my God, and rejoice, O Omnipotent ! "
Mr. Gerson remarks, that there has not yet been found
any medal with the effigy of the French kings before the
time of Charles the Seventh. There are coins in existence,
but no medals, of the first two dynasties. "It is well known,"
he says, " that all medals struck previously to the reign of
Charlemagne were spurious, and most of them the inven-
tion of Jacques Debuet, and Duval, his associate.
VOL. XIX. K K
246 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
He concludes his report with the following observation.
" The beautiful medal now before us, would, if we adopt
the opinion of Menestrier, De Boissi, and Carmoly, accuse
those numismatists, whose whole life had perhaps been de-
voted to elaborate researches, of inaccuracies. .Let us
rather come to the conclusion that the medal in question
does not belong to the ninth century. But," continues he,
"to which epoch then does it belong? — Well, gentlemen,"
said he, "if you can tell me what 800 minus 1000, D.III.M.
indicates, this appearing to be the date of the medal, I shall
be able to answer the last question. Meanwhile," continues
he, "there is nothing determined yet; neither the time, nor
the occasion which called it forth; and this medal will pro-
bably remain classed among the "uncertain," until better
numismatists shall find out its original destination.
M. Gerson Levi, then, was the first who declared against
Menestrier, De Boissi and Carmoly, that the medal in ques-
tion does not belong to Louis le Debonnaire. The inter-
pretation of the legend, however, and particularly the
abbreviations thereof, made no progress. At last, in the
year 1840, Dr. Zunz, in Dr. Jost's Annalen, wrote an ela-
borate report. He noticed the dots on the different words
in the legend, and pointed out the Acrosticon |H p/t3*3!l
rrrv atfinn ixa irvSx 'm DDHH mn ma nm
HIT! " Benjamin, the son of my respected precep-
tor, the learned Doctor Rabbi Eliahu Beer, the physician,
may he live many happy years." The first word is clear
enough, and requires no explanation; the second, ""in'TltoD^
are the initials of words which were introduced in the four-
teenth century, and he quotes instances from Rome, in the
year 1496; and the last word, "HE", is an abbreviation of
words, commonly used in the fourteenth and fifteenth cen-
turies when speaking or writing of living persons. It results
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. . 247
from this, he says, that the legend must have been composed
in the Papal States, in the fifteenth century. The most
complete proof, Dr. Zunz continues, is given by the names
of Eliahu Beer Harophe, which, as has been shown else-
where,2 was the name of an individual who, 400 years ago
was still living in Rome, Eliahu Beer Harophe, being iden-
tical with Elia Beer (Fonte) ben Shabtai. He ordered the
canon of Avicenna to be copied for him, and in a postscript
to that work, he is distinctly called "the physician." Re-
ference is also made to his son, who is represented as
belonging to a learned profession. The time, country,
family, and persons to whom the medal in question belongs,
is, says Dr. Zunz, thus clearly proved. It comes from
Benjamin, the son of Elia Beer, and was made in Home at
a time when his father, Eliahu the physician, was still alive,
about the year 1430. This accounts, he observes, for the
word ifoT\ in the legend, as well as for the subject which he
selected, viz., an imperial medal. The letter above the head
of the figure, the Doctor takes for the letter &>, and con-
siders it to be an abbreviation of the word VJ£^ u my name ;"
for, says he, immediately below there is the name j^33 to
be seen. The figure, continues the Doctor, has as little
relation to the legend, as the writing has to the manufactu-
rer's mark on the paper. But how can it be accounted for
that such a beautifully impressed figure happens to be sur-
rounded by so carelessly an executed inscription, inter mixed
with words of different legends? The rather forced and
doubtful expressions of the legend, might be justified by the
acrosticon which the author was anxious to form. The
great pains which have been taken in the execution of the
2 Dr. Zunz's Analekten, No. 5. Joab, in Dr. Geigcv's Zeitsclirift,
Vol. iii. p. 53.
248 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
medal, show that the author must have had some great ob-
ject in view, and that object, Dr. Zunz says, can only be
made known unto us by the proper understanding of the
words contained in the legend. He then gives his opinion
to the following effect: — "Astrology was much in vogue
during the middle ages. By metallic figures of large or
small size, the influence upon the earth of heavenly bodies
was supposed to be easily obtained. These metallic figures,
together with the planets which they were supposed to
represent, were called W*YI¥. In the fourteenth century, in
particular, there were many who pursued the study of that
science with great zeal; in the fifteenth century, the suf-
ferings and persecutions which Israel had to endure, together
with the approaching time fixed for the arrival of the
Messiah, was by several individuals supposed to have been
ascertained from the position of the constellations. Jupiter
was represented as the harbinger of good tidings; Mars
the protecting power of Rome ; and Saturn the protecting
power of the Jews. It was to such a time," Dr. Zunz says,
"that the legend of the medal refers, and all expressions
therein, respecting occurrences, sentence, image and re-
demption, allude to ideas, which, about that period, were
particularly fostered.
Possibly, he adds, that Benjamin ben Elia may have,
according to his own calculations, fixed upon some time
which he thought likely to put a stop to the persecutions the
Jews had then to endure ; but, to remove the suspicion from
the people's mind that he had derived his information from
astrology, and moreover, to declare that he offered all praise,
and ascribed all glory to the Eternal God, and not to the
influence of the stars, he, the author of the legend, said : —
" God is the omnipotent and all-ruling being"; whatever
Israel has to suffer is a visitation of God alone. Yet the
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 249
idea of comfort and consolation which, he said, we derive
from our trusting in God alone, he blended with an image
of superstition, and recorded his hope in the final victory of
Israel round a figure which he considered an emblem of
Rome's greatness and power. This figure, he says, must
have been to the author of the legend himself, though a
Roman, yet a symbol of tyrannical power; and the time of
the expected redemption may possibly have been the year
1430 — 5190; this being the numerical value of the word
fpn.
He transcribes the legend as follows : —
mran Tiyn tos^a hi nra TOJ pmD TV jm: rrvm
K nrwra pinnNi ppn w&r pfc*p%* wan
ne> »v ^rnx -jni-is nSy&o DWI iwn
t"n S"n K"E> jrn m •>"£ $n m n
And renders it thus : — " By the decree of the divine Dis-
poser, praised be He; by the mercy of the Eternal; whilst
all judgment ceases and the image perishes, I behold thy
light at the time when redemption will take place, and reflect
on the providence of my God. O! Romans, guard from
their trace ! Thus I shall rejoice, waiting for thy deliverance
O God ! almighty Ordainer and Forgiver."
With regard to the eighteen letters with which the legend
appears to conclude, he says: — "If they do not represent
certain numerals or parts of an amulet, they might perhaps
represent sentences from the daily prayers. In the first
eight letters, he observes, we may perhaps find the initials of
njflE" irara D'uy misi DHDH S&u wyw pai
The translation of which is : — "And the shield of our sal-
vation, bestowing gracious favours and redeeming the hum-
ble. He who causes salvation to spring forth."
250 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
The words W\3 |!lj Dr. Z. continues, might have been
introduced in imitation of Ps. vii., v. 1, where the name of
Benjamin is preceded by the word STO. Thus H!3"l 7j?
Wto* jl £HD. All the other words on this medal were per-
haps unknown to the author of the Hebrew legend. He does
not agree with Menestrier respecting the signification of
D.III.M., but he makes no suggestion of any other. The
medal, he says, was brought to Lyons with many thousand
other objects of antiquity.
Having briefly stated all that has been said on this very
remarkable medal, I will now venture to decypher that which
all the above-named learned and distinguished authors have
yet left for others to do.
But before I proceed with the solution of the sealed
sentences contained in the eighteen letters, I will first make
a few remarks respecting some words in the legend which
are complete.
To ascertain the object the author of this or any other
medal had in view, the first step the numismatist takes is a
scrupulously attentive reading of the legend ; but in at-
tempting to do so with the legend on the medal before us,
we meet with words of a rather dubious meaning. We must
therefore seek for some other means to arrive at proper con-
clusions. Happily there are some little dots over the first
letters in each word of the legend, which to the experienced
eye, must, at once, appear of importance.
Menestrier, as stated before, has taken them for the
letters **' indicating the ineffable name of the Tetragram-
maton, but Dr. Zunz found in them the signs for making up
the name of the author of the legend, and I think there can
be no doubt about the correctness of this supposition. But
I differ from him in the interpretation he gives to the words
nyn &SP& ^ ora and
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEFN MEDAL. 251
The first sentence he translates: — "Whilst all judgment
ceases and the image perishes ;" and the second by "my
God, O Romans ! guard from their trace !" It appears to
me less strained if we were to translate the first sentence,
rmn Tip tOS^JS hi Dm, by, " When all justice ceased,
and consideration for men deserving respect became disre-
garded." The word DTl^ being a term used to express
" men of regard." Thus we find in the Talmud, Treatise
[Dp ijn&, ch. pnhwi rvn j'pra, P. 9, miS rvS TDK
TDTi^n PM;I TI on mix SE> D»BOS ibSn cnfc »ja
" R. Shimeon ben Yokhai said unto his son, ' These people
are JlTlX 7&? D^fcJOtf men of consideration (i.e., men de-
serving respect, learned men ; as V'&JH explains the words
miX h® by D'fiDn late), go unto them/ he said ' that
they may favour you with a blessing.' "
Or, if we were to take the word MTl^ as a kabbalistic term
signifying the divine attributes of justice and mercy "1D!"I,
P"T, 8cc., by which the omnipotent Creator manifested him-
self to his creatures, in the same sense as the words
tD'rr";! must be taken. The translation of miXP
would be, "And all good qualities which man ought to adopt
from his Creator ceased."
From what will be said afterwards, it will be seen, that it
is very possible the author may have intended to convey
such meaning to the word, but as the English word "consi-
deration" combines both, I would give preference to the first
explanation.
And with regard to the second sentence, TNfeJTl V-*n ** /K
D/blGJn I have no doubt that it must be rendered by, ''Elia,
the Roman, however, caused the spiritual traces thereof
(viz., traces of justice and consideration) yet to remain."
That is, by the spirit which pervades all his sacred compo-
sition, and by the exhortations which he made to his brethren
252 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
in his propitiatory prayers, he has shown that however jus-
tice and consideration may have vanished from earth, yet
they remain with God. It was the Divine intention in
creating the world, that justice and consideration should
rule mankind, therefore they must again re-appear ; and for
this reason, the author rejoices, and fully hopes in a speedy
redemption.
The expressions TOJ p>Hb and D Wl "iWH make it
obvious that the author intended to use them in their kabba-
listic sense. I only need to quote the tabular inscriptions
from the "p^H pft^, which may be seen, by those who have
not the opportunity to refer to the original work, in Rosen-
roth's Kabbala Denudata, to show the correctness of my
view.
The author of that work, in attempting to represent to the
human mind the free will, emanation and concentration of
the divine power, as manifested in the first act of the crea-
tion, describes his system, the different phases of the creation,
in a square containing three circles or spheres, one within the
other. Round the outer sphere, the square is painted black,
to represent darkness ; for, God, the Lord of will, (7^3
P¥"))"|) he says, is concealed from the comprehension of all
living beings, and therefore his divine essence is unto them
like darkness. |^0 D^JN DSni&n ^Pl N W p¥Tl ^3
*H TO This is the inscription round the first sphere. The
second sphere in the tablet represents "light," viz., — the
eternal " light," which He, the Lord of will, caused to ema-
nate by the manifestation of His spiritual design of the
creation (D£H), and bears the following inscription, "Yltf
DBnn »Y Sy pnn Sjn w\r\& cpo pxn. The third
sphere represents the phase of creation, which was intended
to become comprehensible to the human mind, and is for
this reason called DB>mO \ffWOT\ D^, "The world
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 253
under the garment of the first emanation." Thus the ex-
pression BfilbH T&^n in connection with the attribute of
Ood as the JIXTI 7$D, leaves no doubt of the author's in-
tention, that they should be understood in a kabbalistical
point of view.
The root *}$& connected with D&J^I we find in the lan-
guage of the kabbalistic work, the TU of Habbi Shimeon
ben Yokhai, as expressed in the following sentence K?)
Knym I&DI(TI izyan nn is rrsu mni TO "IKWK
JO^H3 The following explanation of the word D£H as
given by the author of the kabbalistic work /tD J?3&J> p. 33,
will give us the exact meaning of the word in the legend
before us : —
Like the sculptor who first slightly traces his design on
the material previous to the beginning of the work D^l,
then makes the first engraving DpH, which is followed by
deeper incisions S^H, and finally completes his work by
giving all the necessary perfections to each of the different
forms nt^J?, so, the author says, might we be permitted to
imagine the different phases of the first act of the Creator.
The Divine Being first called into existence the most high,
the most spiritual world, the flT7*5ftCT D^ty (the world of
free willed emanation), which, although the most incompre-
hensible to the human mind, was yet the prototype of all
other created worlds ; hence the first act of the creation, is,
by the author of the PlTtf* 13D, expressed by the word
DSJH He slightly traced, as it were, the spiritual design of
the worlds he intended to create.
Next came another world, which although like the first,
invisible, was yet, to a certain degree, of a nature to be a
little nearer to our comprehension ; this was the u7\y
3 " And there is nothing left within the body, except one trace
of the spirit of life, which is in the heart"
VOL. XIX. L L
254 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
(the world of creation), and, for this reason, forms
the second phase, designated by the word ppH. He made,
as it were, the first engraving of His design.
This was followed by the third phase, representing the
world as the m^TH D71J? (the world of formation), which,
being a degree more comprehensible to our mind than the
previous world, the act of this divine creation is expressed
by the word ^H- He made deep incisions.
And lastly, the world of action JT&J'yn D /IJ? was produced,
in which everything was intended for the comprehension of
men; and this final act of the first creation is termed H^.
The word DDIfcJH then, signifies, their spiritual traces,
viz., the spiritual design which God manifested of them (of
justice and consideration, or the divine attributes of righ-
teousness, mercy, compassion, which God intended man in
this world should endeavour to imitate as much as lies in his
power) in the first phase of His act of creation.
The fifteenth century, a period to which, as will be shown
hereafter, the medal belongs, was a time when Israel had to
endure the greatest oppression, and the most unheard-of
persecutions ; justice ceased to be shown towards them, and
men of the greatest desert were treated in the most cruel
manner; so that all hope of deliverance was nearly given
up by them. The author of the legend, therefore, refers his
brethren to illustrations of divine providence, as taught by
Eli Romi, which cannot but impress on their minds, that
justice and consideration had yet left traces on earth, and
that God surely would deliver them from the hands of their
oppressors.
Eli Romi, I consider to be identical with Elia, the son of
Shemaya '^DfcJ' *"O ' vX the author of many supplicatory
prayers HIH vD adopted in the Roman as well as in the
German ritual of the Jews.
He was, no doubt, a man of great learning and piety, who
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 255
in his time, endeavoured to re-kindle the flame of hope in
the bosom of his brethren, by directing their thoughts to
the omnipotent and everlasting Disposer of events. In his
sacred hymns and propitiatory prayers, he elucidated the
ways of Providence in a manner pre-eminently calculated
to raise the sunken spirit of the nation, and to re-animate
them with the hope of a speedy deliverance; concluding his
exhortations by the assurance of God's forgiveness. The
Omnipotent, he often says, takes no delight in the punish-
ment of the transgressor, but in seeing him leave the path
of wickedness, and thus remain alive, both physically and
spiritually. The author of the legend, therefore, could not
have selected a more zealous individual in the cause of God
than Eli, nor could he have addressed more fervent exhorta-
tions than those coming from his pen, and which were
familiar in the mouths of the devout children of Israel.
The word nnHfe^PQ which precedes the sentence vtf
Dfcl&JH TNB7I *fi1*l I translate with Providence, and ren-
der Wl 'h& nm$?m by Providence of Eli Romi (viz.,
by the providence as taught or illustrated by the Eli Romi).
The fact of Eli Romi's instruction being ascribed as a sub-
ject belonging to himself, cannot be a cause of surprise, for
we find distinctly a similar case in the Book of Deutero-
nomy ch. 37, where the righteousness and the judgments
of God are ascribed to Moses, on account of his having
instructed Israel in those divine attributes. Thus: —
hxw ay vtosra wy 71 nfro
As these two words ^"H vtf form the most difficult part
in the legend, I may perhaps be permitted to adduce some
proof in support of my assertion.
Eli Romi, I said to be identical with Elia the son of
Shemaya, the author of the HIIT/D Having no informa-
tion respecting his birth-place, we may not unreasonably
256 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
suppose him to be of Roman origin, and for this reason
called in the legend ^1*1 */tf And, I maintain, that this
may be unquestionably proved by comparing almost all the
propitiatory prayers of his composition with the legend in
question.
After introducing his subject by quoting an expression
from Daniel iv. 14, which refers to what has been commu-
nicated in a dream to Nebuchadnezzar, to the intent that
the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the king-
dom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will "rYYUH"
TTC3 J1in£ 3i"T)3 he complains of justice and consideration
having disappeared rTOH Tl^H tD£fc?£ ^ DrD This
corresponds with what Eli bar Shemaya says in his propi-
tiatory prayer which begins with the words "lIVI *p?n HH^
^ j? " I cry because of violence which is committed, but
no one cometh to render help. Why doest thou permit, O
Lord ! the wicked to surround the righteous ! Thou, whose
helping hand cannot be restrained. An avaricious and low
fellow sits like a king among his associates, removing the
noble-minded from before his presence like a useless shard."4
Eli Romi states that he anxiously looked out for the ap-
pointed time, in which the redemption would take place
fpn 1HW pF? *p1N 'nw Eli bar Shemfiyd says" The
end is concealed, no one knoweth it.5 The duration of the
p^y : is ^an px ^33 iana nnp? $xr\ nnj tappa ^So? ^:\
(T;v nn^D) ych *xf? top
(«"p nn^D) o^ j?i^? fyy\ nnaa Saj vhnn r\xb nnp^ ni.
yn^o D-ino <•¥[? JDJ 5
ainn ^a onp?) jnyn ^wn ty
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 257
time of suffering remaineth a secret even to the most
reflecting sages and the most learned in the law ; no one
knoweth the end of the destruction."
Eli Romi yet puts his trust in God, and hopes that the
day will nevertheless come when Israel will again rejoice,
for God is merciful and forgiving m *1G? 'vWnK ^HIIS
rhU\ Eli bar Shemaya says, " My hope, however, is that
He is forgiving and exculpating, it is for this reason that I
continue to place my trust in my Creator, even whilst
exposed to the danger of being deprived of my life." 6
If we translate, with Dr. Zunz, the word ^T\ Romans,
and take the word ftf^H in the imperative mood, the
more simple translation of D£1£n Ttf&JT! would be : "Let
their traces remain/' instead of, K Guard us from their
traces." I will, however, not dilate longer on the complete
words in the legend, but proceed to the initials or abbre-
viations.
In pointing out several letters which are differently
represented by the before-mentioned decypherers, I may
here observe, that allowance must be made for those who
made their translations from the print, either in Menes-
trier's History of Lyons, or from that in the Memoir of
Dr. Carmoly ; both prints I do not consider exact copies
from the original, as I shall presently have the honour of
showing.7
The method I adopted to find the words for these abbre-
viations was simply, in the first place, to search for such
i5? obpj?* jn "pniDi n"?iD Kin
rho «*
7 Mr. Williams kindly favoured me with a print of the medal,
for which I beg to offer him my best thanks.
258 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
words as would correspond with the nature of the legend
in general ; and, secondly, to find some sentence to indicate
the name of the maker of the medal ; for, 1 took it for
granted, that the author of the inscription had nothing to
do with the making of the figure, or the Latin and Greek
inscriptions.
Having previously established that the legend referred to
the redemption of Israel, as prayed for by '^foW "ft ' vtf, I
searched for words in connection with that subject, and
came to the following result :
Let us take the first eight letters which follow the word
PPDl, and for our better comprehension, place under each
of them a number, thus : — *"$ y"1 PH V1.
8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1
Dr. Carmoly takes them as initials of names belonging to
some of the former members of the Hebrew community at
Lyons. Dr. Zunz is of opinion, that they might be abbre-
viations of words contained in the daily prayers. He takes
six letters of the first line, together with the two letters ^"£
of the vertical line under the J, and reads them, as stated
before : —
nyisr iroxb D'ljy rrnsi DHDPI Saii uy&» p&i
"And the shield of our salvation bestowing gracious favours
and redeeming the humble, causing salvation to spring forth."
The letters marked with the numbers 7 and 8 he takes
for one letter, the & ; which, he says, is an abbreviation of
the word ^tiW " my name," referring to the name of p/b*J3
to be seen immediately under it.
My humble opinion is, to take the No. 1, the letter •), as
an abbreviation of the word ^X1 ; No. 2, the letter *, for
'npY ; No. 3, the letter J, for 'StflJ ; No. 4, the letter PI,
for 'PI ; No. 6, the letter •), for [VlPM ; No. 6, the letter JJ,
; No. 7, the letter y, for *\5ty ; and No. 8, the letter \
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 259
for Dip* ; — these words, when read in succession, form the
twenty-fifth verse of the nineteenth chapter of Job : —
" I know it, my Redeemer liveth, the last mortal will con-
firm it," and are remarkably connected with the words of
^'niK -jrrns and ppn inw p& "piK »rvan, alluding
to the hope of a redemption.
I am, moreover, inclined to think, that the contents of
four verses preceding the twenty-fifth have given the idea of
perpetuating the belief in a sure and speedy redemption on
metal.
" Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied
with my flesh ? O that my words were now written !
O that they were engraved in a book ! That they were
graven in the rock for ever with an iron pen and lead."
msn nrtDjD npm
VT^ ; v ;- '•• ; | IT \:
The individual who caused the medal to be struck,
thought the case of his brethren, to a certain degree, similar
to that of Job. The enemies of the Jews probably said
unto them, " The troubles and persecutions which embitter
your life are a well deserved chastisement for your iniquities,
God has now forsaken you," and other similar expressions.
The words in the inscription remind us to answer these
remonstrances in words similar to those of Job : " True,
our sins are great, yet we have never denied Divine justice.
His punishment we have well deserved ; but nevertheless
our hope is not gone ; on the contrary, I know that my
redeemer liveth, the last mortal will confirm it."
The next nine letters appear, to me, to represent abbre-
260 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
viations of words which give the name of the person who
made the medal. Six of these letters which are opposite
to the eyes and no.se of the figure (JTH H"D v£5), I read for
nyh rOTO n* r\®yh, the translation of which is, " The
work of my hand, the writing of the humble." The three
remaining letters, immediately under (he tied-up hair, were
taken by Menestrier, Carmoly, Levy, Lowisohn and Zunz for
one word, fc^D, "Ethiopia"; I take them for an abbrevia-
tion of three words. Having the medal before me, I can
distinctly see that the second letter is not a *) but "1, similar
in form to that in the word ("HI^H of the legend. I also
notice three dots over the three letters, which confirm me
in my belief of their being abbreviations; and for these
reasons I am led to consider the three letters to represent
the three words TO$ »lh TQ3 "the respected R. Shabtfc,"
possibly a relative of Eliahu Beer.
The two letters opposite to DH3 are p, " son," the two
letters in front of the head, and the three letters behind,
make the word j^3!3. Taking now the nine letters to-
gether with the insertion of the words p fft'OS, we shall
have the following legend : |»&»J3 VjyPI J"OTO *T HB^D
TC&? »m TQri p " The work of my hand, the writing of
my hand, the humble Benjamin, the son of the respected
R. Shabtai."
I have taken the letters yjl as an abbreviation of the
word V3yn, and not *3J?n, for two reasons ; the first is,
because the Jews in general are not in the habit of prefixing
that attribute of modesty to their names ; they generally
use the word T^"T "the young/' or ppH "the little."
The Caraites and the present Samaritans only, who adopted
this custom from the Arabs, prefix to their signature the
word ^jjb\ Elfakeer, " the poor"; and the second reason
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 261
is, because I believe V3J?n to have been the name of the
family from which he descended.
There was, among the Jewish physicians in Itaty, as
recorded by Dr. Carmoly in his Historic des Medecins
Juifs, a family of the name of D^135? " *ne humble," in Italian,
"dei piatelli." The most distinguished of them were Ben-
jamin Rofe and Abraham Rofe, who lived during the time of
Pope Innocent the Third. Their descendants were all men
of great distinction, having written several works of great
literary value. The names of Jehuda Yaaleh, the son of
Benjamin Heiinav VJJ?n ; his two brothers, Zidkeyah and
Yekutiel ; Benjamin and Zidkeyah, the sons of Abraham the
physician, are well known.
The author of the book, Sheebooley Haleket, mentions
the name of Yehuda Yaaleh the son of Benjamin Heanav
(V^yn) as having written valuable commentaries on a work
called Halakhot Alfasee. Zidkeyah the younger brother
of Yehooda is quoted with much praise by the same
author. Yekutiel's son was the author of an excellent
work on morals, entitled Maalot Hamidot. Benjamin, the
son of Abraham, the physician, left several works of his
composition, one of which, entitled " The fourteen gates,"
is deposited in the Bibliotheque Imperiale of Pans, Fonds
Sorbonne, No. 246. Zidkejah, the younger brother of
Benjamin, and disciple of Yehooda Yaale, is the author of
the above-named Sheebooley Haleket.
A descendant of this family was the pious physician
Menakhem (V3J?) Anav, who lived in Rome, and died there,
renowned for his great learning and piety.
Dr. Zunz, in his Analecten, published in Geiger's Zeit-
schrift, mentions the family of D^J?, Anavim, very fre-
quently. In describing Jechiel Chajim ben Jacob, of
Bethel, he says, that individual wrote a work for a member
VOL. XIX. MM
262 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
of the family dei Piatelli, in the year 1445, and was instru-
mental in procuring a copy of the two first books of
Avicenna's Canon for Elia Beer (Fonte) ben Sabtai- He
also mentions Joab ben Baruch, as belonging to the family
of the Anavim £^13^.
The celebrated poet, Emanuel Romi ben Shelomo, the
contemporary of the Italian Fra Guittone of Arezzo, in
describing, in his poetic vision, his visit to Paradise,
gives the names of several members of the Anavim family
whom he had seen there.
" On leaving the place assigned for the punishment of the
transgressors." said he, " where our thoughts, from what we
had seen there, had become nearly confused, our mind
extended its wings and took a flight towards Eden, the
place assigned for reward to those who acted in conformity
with the will of the Creator ; we directed our course towards
the ladder, the foot of which is fixed on earth, but the top
reacheth heaven. On our reaching that celestial abode, we
met there my lord and preceptor R. Benjamin, who
instructed me in the law when I was young; R. Zidkeyahoo,
the Anav, ViJ/H, and his three sons, the pre-eminently pious
physician, R. Menakhem, the righteous R. Yitzkhak, the
physician, and his son, R. Benjamin."
Believing, then, that the maker of this medal was a de-
scendant of the family D%<0y "the humble or meek," in
Italian "Dei piatelli," or, as expressed in Hebrew words, by
Bartolocci, 'T£DK"a?/D, I read the abbreviation of ^H for
nyn, and not >:yn.
By adopting this mode of reading, I arrive at the conclu-
sion, that the Latin word " umilitas," and the Greek word,
rXayvpoais, are merely translations of the word V3J7PI, and
indicate nothing more than the name of the distinguished
family from whom the maker descended.
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 263
We now come to the last six letters, which appear to
come out of the mouth of the figure. I am inclined to
think that the maker of the medal, having seen the design
of his work complete, thought proper to render thanks to
the everlasting Being for his success, as was customary with
the Jews to do on completing a work, and which may still
be seen on the last page in many printed books. The usual
form is expressed in the following six letters, JD/^IH,
which are abbreviations of the words
thy &nii hvh PQB> oSra oh
and signify "Ended and completed; praise to God, the
Creator of the universe ! "
The letters on the medal are VPI 7'H &$"&?, I read them
as abbreviations of the words
D»pi »ri hub nSnri jnx rae>
and which may be rendered by " 1 give praise and glory to
the living and everlasting God."
Having, as I venture to hope, satisfactorily decyphered
the legend on the obverse, we shall now turn our attention
to the Latin inscription on the reverse.
There we find various points which require great consi-
deration. The Latin words " post tenebras spero lucem,"
have "been taken by Dr. Carrnoly to be the last portion of
Job xvii. 13, according to the translation of the Vulgata.
This is, so far, quite correct; but may we not ask, how is it
that a Jew, who is supposed to have been the author of the
inscription, should have departed from the plain sense of
the Hebrew text "p?n ^Sfc 3np TIK, which is, " Light is
near unto me in consequence of the darkness,"8 and adopt,
in preference, the translation of the Vulgata?
8 Job in describing the troubles which befell him, saying,
>~1|,JD 1pri3, complained of their preventing him from sleepin°-
at night; JSm 'JSD 3np ~\1K 1D»B» 01^ IW "They make night
into day, light to be near in consequence of darkness (trouble).
264 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
Another point of consideration is, to what particular date
do the letters D.III.M. refer, so as to justify the Jews in
their belief that the time of redemption was near at hand ;
and, if referring to the Christian era, might we not reason-
ably ask, what object could the Jewish author have had in
view, by commemorating his pious exhortations, apparently
directed to his brethren in faith alone, according to the
Christian, in preference to the Jewish era ?
To answer these questions we must again unfold the book
of history ; but to find the exact page therein for our infor-
mation, we must first decide the exact meaning of the
letters D.III.M.
As most of the learned members of this Society unani-
mously agree to consider the end of the fifteenth century, or
even the beginning of the sixteenth century, as the proper
period in which to place the striking of this medal, I feel
inclined to adopt the opinion of Mr. Bergne, who, on seeing
it, at once remarked, that the irregular position of the letters
D.III.M., would not prevent the reading of them in the same
manner as if they had been written M.D.III. He pointed
out a considerable number of instances given in Van Loon's
Histoire Metallique des Pays Bas, vol. i., p. 121, and I
entertain no doubt of the correctness of his views? this
being frequently the case in Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, and
Persian dates. But as the instances quoted by Mr. Bergne
refer to letters selected from whole words3 we must, for this
reason, also in the medal before us seek the words which
the author may have had in view in placing the numeral
letters in this unusual order, otherwise we might not be
justified in adopting Mr. Bergne's opinion
My humble opinion is, that the author of the legend
intended to introduce the initials of an additional sentence,
bearing on the subject of redemption, and by doing so he
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 265
gained two objects, which, as I shall show afterwards, he
had much at heart, viz., to exhort the Jews to remain firm
in their belief of a speedy redemption, and to point out a
fixed date for the appearance of the Messiah to the
Christians.
I take the letter M. to represent the Hebrew "D, which I
consider to have been intended as an abbreviation of the
word D71J7/5 ; the III., for the Hebrew "3, an abbreviation of
the word 137^3 ; and the D., for the Hebrew letter "7, an
abbreviation of the ineffable name of the Tetragrammaton.
The three words together, then, I read either from the left to
the right, or from the right to the left, and the sense of them
in either way, would be, " The Eternal Being is our Re-
deemer from ever since."
Having now ascertained the year 1503 to have been the
period when the medal was struck, we shall, on referring to
history, find two extraordinary events recorded, which will
serve us fully to shed an entirely new light on the subject of
our enquiry.
The first of these was the preservation of the Talmud, a
work containing all the authenticated traditional explana-
tions to the law, which an apostate from the Jewish religion,
a man of the name of Pfeffercorn, wanted, by his influence
with the Pope, to have consigned to the flames.
Most extraordinarily the work was saved by the exertions
of a man who was the chief of the Christian learned theolo-
gians of his time. Dr. Johannis Reuchlin wrote a defence
of the Talmud in Hebrew, which was published for the first
time, from the original manuscript, in G. Friedlander's Ber-
trage zur Reformations Geschichte, Berlin, 1837, and trans-
lated by the writer of this into English, in his Appen-
dix to Levinsohn's Effes Dammin, London, 1841.
Considering the innumerable sacrifices which the Jews
have always made of their Kves and property, only to
266 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE
remain true to their religion, we may easily judge to what
extent their hope in the special protection of the Omnipo-
tent must have been re-kindled within their bosoms, on
seeing, in an age of hatred and persecution, as the fifteenth
century was, a man differing from them in faith, rise and
defend that book, elucidating the principles of the religion,
for which they had made so many sacrifices.
The second extraordinary event, was the appearance of
an individual, who, by his exhortations, prepared both Jews
and Christians for the arrival of the Messiah. As this dis-
closure refers to the most important point in our investiga-
tion, I shall give an exact translation, of the accounts
relating to that subject, as given in the works Emek Haba-
kha JOSH p£y by R. Joseph Hacohen, and Tzemakh David
TH n&¥ by R. David Cans.
Referring to the year 1496, which gave him birth, the
author of the Emek Habakha says, "About that time there
rose in Istria, near Venice, a German Jew of the name of
Lemlein; he was a foolish prophet, a madman, who pro-
fessed to be gifted with inspiration. Many Jews flocked
around him, and believed him to be a real prophet ; ' God,'
said they, ' has sent him to become a ruler in Israel, for the
purpose of gathering the dispersed sons of Judah from the
four cardinal points of the earth.'" Even men of learning,
said the author, followed him. They proclaimed fasts,
girded sackcloth round their loins, and with feelings of deep
contrition they left their wicked paths to turn unto God.
"Our salvation," they said, "is nigh to come, and the
Eternal, in proper season (which they believed then to be),
will hasten our redemption to take place."
The author of the Tzemakh David describes that event
as follows:— "In the year 5260—1500,* Rabbi Lemlein
* According to the author of the n?3pn rbtihw, this year was
called rQltPJin rucy, the year of penitence.
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 267
announced the arrival of the Messiah. His words were
believed among Israelites, and even among non-Israelites he
caused great sensation, and many Christians believed in his
predictions.9 My grandfather, R. Seligmann Cans," says
the author, "was so firm in his belief, that he actually broke
np his oven, which he solely used for the baking of Passover
biscuits, because Lemlein assured him he would bake them
next year in Jerusalem." The author further states, that he
had heard his own preceptor, R. Eliezer Treves, the Chief
Rabbi of Frankfort on the Maine, saying, "The predictions
were not without foundation, but owing to the sins of Israel
the arrival of the Messiah has not taken place.
Basnage and Wolf also give an account of Lemlein, but
they give his name incorrectly as David Lemlein, his name
was Asher. They have no doubt confused it with that of
David Reubeni, the associate of Shelomo Molkho.
Basnage remarks, that Lemlein having soon become
aware of his having prefixed too short a time for his
prophecies, published that the people's sins had retarded the
appearance of the Deliverer, and the nation celebrated a
solemn fast to appease God, and to hasten the deliverance,
which did not come.
From the above historical statements, it becomes evident
that the end of the fifteenth century was the exact period in
which many Jews and Christians in Germany and Italy
looked out for the arrival of the Messiah. The words
S'niN yinS «I hope for Thy redemption," in the Hebrew
legend are thus fully explained. The date, 1503, no doubt
refers to the year in which the deliverance from trouble and
ana D'mi *?n3i •fpin ^pn "T\ D»un pa Da mm^ w»o«n
vim1? u
268 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
persecution was to have taken place, as indicated by the
connexion in which the letters D.III.M. appear to have with
the Latin words "dies ultimus."
The Latin inscription together with the Christian era were
introduced to make the object of the medal better known to
the Christians, of whom, as stated before, many were his
zealous adherents. For the same reason, the translation of
the Vulgata has been introduced in preference to any other,
the latter being considered by the Christians the most au-
thentic. Possibly the author of the Latin inscription, may
have intended to convey to the non-Israelite followers of
Lemlein, some idea of what is contained in the kabbalistic
portion of the Hebrew legend, where the word DD1KH
expresses that phase of the first act of the creation, in
which the spiritual world was called into existence, known
by the word "OK "light" that came after "darkness" "JOT.
The figure on the medal has been introduced merely to
evade every suspicion that could have been cast on them for
striking a medal commemorating views and hopes, un-
doubtedly not shared by the government of that time.
For the same reason, names of individuals were intro-
duced who did not exist at the time of the making of the
medal, but in all probability referred to certain parties best
known to those initiated in the secret designs of Asher
Lemlein, and the irregular order of the letters indicating the
date, had in addition to the reasons stated, also another :
the fear of being detected by the authorities.
It remains, at present only to add another remark to the
name of ^1"! *7tf. The author of the Hebrew legend, 1
said before, referred to '^D£? *"Q 'vN' who composed sup-
plicatory prayers, the contents of which are similar to that
of the legend. Now, as it has been ascertained that Asher
Lemlein was the individual whose appearance the medal
MEMOIR ON THE LEMLEIN MEDAL. 269
was intended to commemorate, it may be interesting
to find in the words *aVl vtf the initials of 1S?K
VSn **V)JV jvlby? Asher Lemlein, a Roman Jew, and
which may perhaps have been also a reason for introducing
that name in the legend.
The word ^H might be taken as a term, not only refer-
ring to a native of Rome, but also to a person coming from
a province belonging to the ancient Roman Empire, which
included Istria, near Venice ; the meaning of Romi, for
the Roman Empire, is given in the frequent expressions of
WHO Wl and pTfl 'OH by the authors of HIiT^D.
The result of my researches, then, is, that the medal in
question had nothing to do with Louis le Debonnaire, with
the Jews of Lyons, or with astrology. It was intended to
commemorate the predictions of Asher Lemlein respecting
the arrival of the Messiah in the year 1503, as expected by
many Jews and Christians at that time.
The following is the complete Hebrew legend, with the
translation thereof: —
Tiprr bSBttr y oro" »rwr pma* "nv/ jiw mm'
pian w ppr mm* pfr *pix" *mnr rrn»Y
" -jnvrfi" rfejw Dawr TKBTI" w ^
: rror IT nfir
: Dip* nsy by PTIW *n ^su TIJTP
m toa p pa^
"By the decree of Him who is the guide (of the universe),
blessed be He ! By His eternal will.
"When all justice ceased, and consideration failed, I beheld
the length of that period reaching the appointed end of
exile (and no redemption had yet taken place), but on re-
VOL. XIX. N N
270 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.
fleeting on the ways of Providence as taught by EH Romi
(I perceived), that He caused the spiritual traces of them yet
to remain, and I rejoiced.
"I fully hope in Thy redemption, O Eternal ! omnipotent
God, who art great and forgiving. I know it ; my Re-
deemer liveth, the last on earth will confirm it.
"The work of my hand, the writing of Benjamin, the son
of R. Shabtai, of the Anavim family.
"Praise and glory I render to the living and everlasting
God."
%* By an oversight, three signs of abbreviation were omitted
in the engraving; the original has those signs on the first letter of
each word, so as to make up the Acrosticon.
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